Destiny Through Time
by Sailor Elf
Summary: MummyPMUC. Four children. Three men. Two times. One destiny.
1. Trouble in the Timestream

Disclaimer - Not Ardeth, not Frank, not Nick (or anyone associated with them) belong to me. No way. Though Catlanda, her Spire, Michelle, Patrick, Sarah and any other original characters belong to me.

Summary - Four children. Three men. Two times. One destiny.

Author's Note - This is dedicated to Deana, the one who never stopped believing in me.

00000

Destiny Through Time

Catlanda slowly headed towards Ardeth's tent. She carried the Spire in one hand and had the other on Geb, who was guiding her along.

Sharak saw her and walked up to her side.

"What's wrong Cat? You don't seem yourself today," he asked her.

"I'll be fine. I'm just not feeling well today, that is all," she replied with a smile before continuing on.

Sharak watched her leave him before heading in the other direction. She soon came across Ardeth's tent and walked inside. He was sitting on his bed. He appeared to be deep in thought.

"Father?" she asked.

He broke out of his trance and looked over at her. He gave a smile as he stood and walked over to her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her as he gave her a hug.

"Good. Could be better," she replied as she welcomed his embrace.

Ardeth glanced away from her for a moment before his stare returned to her bulging stomach. He sighed as he put a hand on it.

"It had to be like this, didn't it?" he wondered.

Catlanda looked away from him, closing her eyes.

"I like it about as much as you do Father but it is here whether we like it or not," she whispered.

Ardeth became worried as she gave a small gasp and a hand went to her stomach. He helped her to the side of his bed.

"What's wrong? Is the baby coming now?" he quietly asked her.

"I don't think just yet. Though the time is still very near. It could come at any time," she told him as a grimace appeared on her face.

"Lay down for a while. You need it," Ardeth told her as he helped her lay on her back. "I will be right here."

She nodded before she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

00000

A man walked through the cloudy mist. It was thick and difficult to see. He looked from side to side before coming to sand. Endless sand.

"I am here," he said as he began to move forward.

But he was stopped before he could go any further.

"What is going on here?" he wondered as he thought about the possibilities. "What could possibly prevent me from arriving at my destination?"

He lifted his arm and reached forward with his hand. It soon came to rest upon an invisible barrier.

"I cannot get through. I'll have to find another way through this and into where I want to go," he told himself before heading back. "I have to finish them off but it will have to happen at a later date. Right now, I think I'll head to a later date."

00000

Rick handed Evie a canteen before looking over at Alex and Jonathan, who were still on their camels.

"Hey, what're you two doing?" Rick wondered with a smile as he walked over to him.

"Nothing much. Just wondering when we'll get there. I am still wondering why you dragged me along with," Jonathan replied.

"I don't know why either but Evie insisted on it," Rick replied.

"Of course! He's my brother and he had a knack of finding things although they tend to lead us to Imhotep," she replied. "I was hoping he might find something for us."

"And it'll lead us right to Imhotep again or some other undead mummy. Basically, it'll lead us to more trouble," Rick told her.

Evie's mouth was open as Rick smiled at her.

"Rick O'Connell, you are unbelievable sometimes," she said.

They climbed back on their camels and returned to their journey back towards the Medjai village.

00000

Catlanda was sleeping soundly as Ardeth sat by her side. He watched her silently breathe as he held onto the Spire. He stared at it for what seemed the longest time. He gave a sigh.

"What are we to do? The tribe will soon have to know about this child. I know that some will demand to know why we did not tell them sooner," he said as he stared at his daughter.

He looked away from her just before the Spire's eyes began to glow. He was startled as it did so and at that moment, Catlanda awoke in a sweat. She was gasping for air. He dropped the Spire onto the sand and hurried to his knees by her side.

"What is wrong?" he desperately asked.

"Something is wrong," she quietly replied as a hand instinctively went to her stomach.

Ardeth put his hand over hers and she looked up at him.

"I have a feeling that it will come really soon but that's not what I'm worried about right now. There's trouble brewing in the time stream. He's free somehow," she whispered to him. "We must go to the Temple of Isis to seek our answers."

She began to stand up and Ardeth helped her. She stumbled a bit but Ardeth held onto her.

"You should be careful. You know you are in very delicate condition right now," he reminded her.

"I know Father, I know," she barely said as she leaned into him.

He held her as she did so.

"Come on. Let's go now," he told her.

00000

"Finally, we're almost there," Jonathan whined.

"Jonathan, you sound like you're not happy to see Ardeth or Catty. Nothing's wrong, is there?" Rick asked.

"No, there isn't though I'm getting a strange feeling that this trip will be no different than the others we've taken here. But between Imhotep, the Scorpion King and several occasions where Ardeth was captured and injured, as well as Catlanda, I've had enough of that sort of adventure," Jonathan replied as they came to the outskirts of the tribe.

"Uncle Jonathan, don't get depressed already. We just got here," Alex told him.

They climbed off the camels and they began to make their waytowards Ardeth's tent. Along the way, they received some smiles along the way. Sharak walked up to them.

"Hello Sharak, how are things here?" asked Rick.

"Some things have changed slightly in the past several months but mostly everything is still the same," he replied as he started to head in the same direction as them.

"Really? Like what?" wondered Evie as they arrived at Ardeth's tent.

"I'll explain later," he replied before heading inside the tent.

When he walked in, he saw Ardeth sitting on the edge of his bed as Catlanda was sitting in it. She appeared to be a bit upset. Over what, they couldn't tell

"What's wrong?" asked Sharak.

"Um, bad dream. That is all," replied Ardeth as he glanced over at the man. "Now what is it that you need?"

Sharak's eyes looked away from him.

"Ardeth, the O'Connells are here," he finally told him.

Ardeth stared at the man standing before him. He glanced at Catlanda, who nodded before he stood up and walked outside to greet them.

"Hi Ardeth. How're things going?" Jonathan told him.

"You have come at a bad time. Catlanda and I were just about to go do something important now," he told them.

"Anything that we can help with?" Alex piped up.

"Alex, what're you doing?" Rick asked him, arms crossed.

Alex shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'what's wrong with that'? Rick sighed.

"He's right. Is there anything we can do to help?" Rick told Ardeth as Catlanda walked out of the tent.

"No, it is not something you can help with. Come on Ardeth, we have to go," Catlanda replied as she headed towards her horse.

"We might not be long. Please stay here until we get back," Ardeth told them before he went after Catlanda.

Evie watched the two as they rode out into the distance. She was very curious about something now. Rick looked over at her, narrowing her eyes.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked her.

"Something's wrong. I'm can't place my finger on it but something is wrong," she replied.

"Now all I want to do is to go home," Jonathan said out of nowhere.

"Uncle Jon, we just got here. Why would we go home? Besides, they'll be back soon enough," Alex asked him with a laugh.

Ardeth looked over at Catlanda as they headed towards the temple. He was becoming increasingly worried at her composure. She was hunched over, seeming almost listless as they rode on.

"Catlanda..." he started, putting a hand on her shoulder,

She perked up a bit and stared at him.

"I am sorry Father. This whole thing has taken a lot out of me," she whispered to him as she put a hand on her stomach.

"I know it has. It has taken a lot out of me as well. I know I'll never fully understand what you went through nine months ago but seeing him do that to you...sickens me," Ardeth told her.

Catlanda sighed as they trudged on.

00000

Finally, they arrived at the mountain the temple was in. Catlanda opened the doorway and the two walked inside. They looked around as they headed towards the altar.

Ardeth's eyes widened in amazement as a bright light appeared before them.

"Guardian, we seek your guidance. I can tell something is wrong. What has happened?" Catlanda said as she knelt on her knees.

Ardeth soon followed as the Guardian stood before them.

"You are right, Keeper of the Spire. There is something wrong. The Time Traveller has been set free. I have been keeping track of his ventures and as we speak he is heading to the future, the year 2004. I know why he is going there. He seeks to kill two men there and both are in America. Both are in the same situation as you. Men who have adopted children. The Time Traveller was intending to come kill you, Ardeth Bay, but could not because of the magical force that kept him from entering this time. The three of you must stop him for good. You are the only ones who can," the Guardian explained to them.

"Then to 2004 we must go," Ardeth said as he looked over at Catlanda.

She was doubled over and gasping. It almost sounded as if she were in pain. Ardeth hurried to her side as did the Guardian. She put a hand on the female Medjai's stomach.

"Do not be surprised Ardeth Bay. I have known about this since the beginning. I know when there's going to be an heir to the Spire. Bring her over this way. There have been times where she has stayed for days at a time and she found herself a hidden cavern not too far from here," she told him as they helped Catlanda to her feet. "The child's time is really soon."

They led her to the cavern where they helped her to the bed. Catlanda began to breath deeply. The Guardian looked outside once she heard voices.

"Keeper, your friends followed you here but must leave really soon. I can prevent the child from coming long enough so you get to your destination and back again," the Guardian told them as Ardeth sat down beside his daughter.

"Father, we have to go. The Time Traveller is dangerous. We have to stop him," she gasped as she tried to stand. "The child has to wait a little bit longer."

The Guardian and Ardeth helped her out to the main room, where the four waited for them.

"Catlanda, what's wrong?" wondered Alex.

"Something happened on their way here and she was injured but it can wait. Right now, Richard O'Connell, Evelyn O'Connell, you will join Ardeth and Catlanda to their destination. Others will join you when the time requires it. Others like Marok, Sharak and the other members of your family," the Guardian told them all.

"Where are we going?" Evie said, stepping forward.

"You will see and you will know what to do when the time arrives and what your purpose there is," the Guardian told them, lifting her hand.

She brought it down and the group shielded their eyes from the blinding light.

TBC...


	2. Another Lesson in Travel to San Fransisc...

Nick walked down the hall of his home before he ran into Sarah as she came out of her room.

"Where're you going in such a hurry?" he asked her with a smile.

"Going out with some friends. We're going to the mall and checking out the new fashions," she replied.

"Just remember..." he called to her.

"...don't buy anything you probably won't wear or use and don't go with any strangers. Plus don't bother Jackie if I see her since she's still quite upset about that trick we pulled on her last year," she finished with a smile on her face as well. "You've told me before and I've always listened."

Nick rolled his eyes as he watched her leave through the door. Patrick walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about her Nick. She's 17, nearly 18 after all. She can take care of herself," Patrick told him.

"That she is and I trust her enough," Nick replied as he sat on the couch.

Patrick sat down beside him and sighed.

"I know we never stop saying this but thanks again for taking us in," Patrick told him.

"It's no problem at all. I've told you that every time. I didn't want to see you separated. I can see the two of you keep an eye out for each other," Nick replied.

"It's been two years. She's soon going to be done high school and I'm taking a course at the local college and it's all thanks to you," Patrick said before standing up and heading towards the door as well.

Nick watched as the 20-year-old walked outside.

"Those two are so eager," he muttered to himself as he stood up.

He headed towards the window and looked outside through the blinds. There, he saw a man standing outside the house. Nick noticed that the man was as tall as he was with shoulder-length black hair that was tied back. He wore sunglasses as he gazed over the house. He soon came in contact with Nick and they stared at each other. Nick watched as the man took off his sunglasses and placed them in his shirt pocket.

_'What does he want? Why is he here?'_ wondered Nick as the man glanced both sides of him before heading across the street.

Then he felt dread all the way down in his gut as he continued to watch the man.

The man walked across the street, smiling that he saw the man staring out the window at him.

"I will come after you soon but I need to go check on someone else first before I come back to you," he said to himself as he disappeared into an alley.

No one saw him do so except a surgeon looking out his home window.

00000

Nick walked into the hospital as Rae headed past the front doors. She saw Nick out of the corner of her eye and stopped, a smile on her face.

"What brings you here? There's anything wrong, is there?" she asked him, becoming a bit worried once she saw the scared look on his face.

"Listen, there's something I want to tell you but not here," he told her quietly as he led her away from the crowd.

He took her to a vacant room, where he proceeded to tell her what he had seen.

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you Nick. For all you know, it could be some guy looking at your house and you just happened to see him," Rae suggested.

"You may be right though he still looked to be menacing in some way. If I ever saw him again, I'd be wary of him," Nick replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

00000

The group of four found themselves standing in an alleyway. Rick looked out to see the tall buildings and people hurrying about.

"What're we doing back in San Fransisco?" he wondered as he started to walk out of the alley.

"San Fransisco? We're in California?" Evie wanted to make sure as she followed him.

Ardeth and Catlanda followed them as well. He was helping her walk as she limped along beside him. She was gasping for air.

"Yes, we are. This is where Alex and I landed when we had that trouble at the temple about two years ago but what are we supposed to do here?" Rick replied as they headed out into the street.

It was then that Catlanda perked up a bit and began to walk down the street. The group received a few stares along the way.

"Rick, the Guardian said there were two men in this time that are in great danger. Here, in America. She must have sent us to this place for a reason. Would you have any idea why? Anybody here we might have to protect?" Catlanda wondered.

Rick stopped and stared back at her, confused.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her.

"Yes, what are you talking about? Why did you go to the Temple of Isis?" Evie added.

The two Medjai looked at each other and sighed.

"I suppose it is about time we told you. We knew this was happening before we even went there. We have to stop the Time Traveller before he destroys all that is good," Ardeth explained to them.

"Who is he after exactly?" Evie asked of them.

"We are not exactly sure at the moment but I would rather go somewhere and sit down. My injury is starting to hurt again," Catlanda told them as she leaned a bit on Ardeth.

He supported her as he looked at Evie and Rick.

"Where are these people you became friends with? Catlanda needs to be somewhere safe," Ardeth asked of Rick.

To the American, it almost sounded as if the Medjai was pleading for him to do this. Something he never heard of Ardeth doing.

"Okay, let's go," Rick said as they began to walk towards the hospital. "Follow me. I remember where it is."

00000

Jules walked in the hallway, heading towards her office. On the way, she looked up to see Jackie heading towards her.

"Hi Jackie. How're you doing?" she asked.

Jackie gave a knowing smile.

"How do you think I'm doing? After that little stunt those three pulled on me, I don't know if I'll ever talk to them again," she replied.

"Come on now. That was a year ago! Besides, I hate to say this but you did kind of deserve it. After treating Nick the way you did with that nickname. It did get on his nerves," Jules told her.

Jackie drooped her shoulders at the comment.

"Take their side, why don't you?" Jackie muttered as she walked away from Jules, who had a smile on her face.

Jackie walked down to the main lobby and gazed over the people there. She soon came to a group of people dressed in strange clothing. She narrowed her eyes as she started to walk over to them.

"Nick? Is that you? What a way to do something else to me! Wasn't that joke last year enough?" she told herself.

The man had his back to her but she was sure it was him. He was helping a woman sit into a chair. He knelt by her as the doctor walked up to them. The woman saw her and stared at her. Jackie crossed her arms and snickered.

"Nick, if you think a disguise like that is going to fool me, I don't know what you're thinking," she said.

The man heard this and stood up before turning to face her. Jackie gasped, pitting her hands up to her mouth.

"You're not Nick!" she cried.

Ardeth was confused as her looked over at Rick.

"Nick. I forgot about him. Listen Ardeth, this Nick fellow looks just like you. Easy mistake. I confused him for you," Rick told him. "Jackie, this is Ardeth, his daughter Catlanda and my wife Evelyn."

It was then that Jackie saw Rick and smiled.

"They're friends of yours? Good. What're you doing here?" she asked.

"We need your help. We're looking for two men whose lives are in danger," Ardeth told her.

Jackie led the group to the coffee room, where Rae and Nick were already.

"Rick? Is that you?" Rae asked with a smile.

"Yes it is. I'm back!" he replied.

Nick also smiled but it quickly turned into amazement as Ardeth walked into the room. The two stared at each other. Rae looked between the two.

"I don't believe it! They look near identical," she exclaimed.

"Dad, this is one of the two men we're looking for. I can feel it," Catlanda said out of nowhere.

Ardeth nodded his head as he sat down by his daughter.

"We have some explaining to do. There is a man called the Time Traveller who found a portal to the timestream. He stepped into it and is now forever cursed because of it. He travels through time, for his own evil purposes. Now, it looks like three men are in danger from him: myself, Nick here and one other man living here in the United States and all because we have adopted children," Ardeth explained to them.

"So that's why we're here. Because we've already met one of the two and he's one of them," Rick said, refering to Nick. "Since you have Catty and Nick has Sarah and Patrick."

"I am certain that is why we are here," Ardeth told him.

"How will we find this man? He isn't just going to show up out of the blue," Rae mentioned.

"We know," sighed Catlanda. "Though we can find out where he is and approach him."

"Well, we'd better get going to find this man. After all, there's millions of people in this country," Jackie suggested.

"But we can find him with the Spire," Rick told her.

"It can do that?" she asked as the group walked out of the room.

Catlanda slowly walked in the back until she felt pain in her stomach. She cried out as she leaned against the wall. Ardeth turned and hurried to her.

"What's wrong?" he frantically asked her as he helped her to her knees.

"It can't wait!" she told him. "It's coming!"

"By Allah," he said as the others hurried up to them.

"What's going on here?" demanded Rick. "This can't be some injury."

"Ardeth, we must tell them, now," Catlanda whispered to him.

Ardeth sighed and nodded, knowing that he must.

"She needs help yes, but it is no injury. She is pregnant," Ardeth told them as they gasped.

"No she's not. She doesn't look it so she can't be," Rae protested.

"Spire, remove the spell," Ardeth ordered as he held onto the Spire.

The eyes glowed and Catlanda's pregnancy slowly came into view of the group, making them all gasp.

TBC...


	3. Strange Occurences

A few days earlier...

Frank walked into the Nest with Michelle right behind him. She headed over to the couch and sat in it, subsequently putting her feet on the table. Frank gave her a strange look as he headed over to her and Cody, who was already on the couch.

"Mika, you know what I've said about that," he started.

"I know, I know. Feet off the table," she sighed.

She took them off as Jake, Monica and Alex walked into the building. Cody began to laugh.

"Are there any new cases?" Alex wondered with a smile.

"Well, I read this case and we're going to San Fransisco," Frank replied as he held up the file.

The team and Michelle were surprised.

"San Fransisco? What would take us there?" asked Monica.

"It's pretty vague in the details but apparently there's a man there causing trouble and we were asked to deal with it. So we'd better get our bags packed. We are going to be there a few days," Frank told them as he looked out the window. "And you're coming along with us Mika. Don't want to leave you alone and besides, you've got no school. It's summertime."

He saw a man outside and he headed over to the window. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over the man. He noticed the hair, the sunglasses and a few other things. Monica walked up to him and followed his gaze.

"Frank?" she asked. "What do you see?"

Frank glanced at Monica before looking back out the window to see the man had disappeared. He was confused as he walked past Monica and out the door. He looked from side to side for the man.

_'Where'd he go?'_ he asked himself.

"Frank, what's wrong?" asked Alex from behind him.

"No, nothing's wrong. We'll go to Frisco, like asked and do what we have to do," Frank replied as he walked back inside.

00000

A few days later, Frank stepped out of the airplane and onto solid ground. The rest of the team followed him as did Michelle.

"Wow, I've always wanted to come here. I just never I thought I would," Michelle said in awe, taking in the sights around her.

"Let's just hope none of us gets hurt," muttered Cody.

"Did you say something Cody?" asked Frank.

Cody perked up and wondered if Frank really heard what he had said.

"No, nothing," he replied as they continued on.

Michelle jumped onto the bed and laid down, hands behind her head and feet crossed. Alex and Monica both laughed softly as they also made themselves comfortable.

"Having fun?" asked Alex

"Of course. I always do," replied the teen. "Though I have to wonder what Frank was looking at the other day."

"I agree. What was he looking at Monica. You were standing next to him," agreed Alex as they gazed over at Monica.

"I don't know. It was either an hallucination or something was really there that only he could see. I can't be certain yet," she replied as she walked over to Michelle.

The three looked at each other with some worry in their faces.

"I wonder what really brought us here? Frank seemed really anxious to get here after that happened," wondered Alex.

All thought about it as they continued with what they were doing.

00000

Frank searched through his luggage and his mind as he stood in front of his suitcase. He couldn't get the man from a few days previous out of his mind. He sighed, not realizing Jake was behind him.

"Frank, what's wrong?" he finally asked him.

Frank twirled around to stare at the man before turning back around.

"Nothing's wrong Jake. I already told you that. What makes you think otherwise?" replied Frank.

"I'm not sure Frank. Ever since that day at The Nest, you've seemed different somehow. It seems as if whatever you saw has been consuming you. Maybe you just imagined it," suggested Jake.

"No, you're wrong. I know what I saw was real," Frank told him.

"I don't doubt you Frank. I see it in your eyes. You believe it'll be back," Jake said before walking away from him.

Frank was a bit surprised at this. He turned to look at Jake as he headed towards the door. He thought about it more and more to realize Jake was right.

00000

Ardeth nervously waited out in the hall for any news of his daughter. Rick and Evie were down the hall, sitting down in chairs. They glanced over at him frequently for they were very concerned about him. Rick finally decided to walk over to him. He put a hand on his friend's shoulder and Ardeth looked at him.

"Ardeth, she's in very good hands her though I have one question for you," Rick told him.

"What is it?" asked Ardeth as Rick gave a sigh.

"You obviously knew about this for a while now. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Rick wondered.

Ardeth sighed and looked away from him. He stepped away from the American.

"We did not tell you for our own safety. Even yours once you think about it. But if my people knew what had happened..." Ardeth started as Evie walked up to him.

"You can tell us Ardeth. We're your friends," she told him.

"No Evelyn, I cannot do that," he told her. "I suppose both of you are wondering why."

The two nodded, curiousity written in their faces.

"She and I have agreed not to talk about it. Ever. Not to anyone else, not to each other," Ardeth explained. "Besides, I would rather not talk about it even if we did agree to it."

Ardeth walked away from them, leaving two very worried people behind. He walked down the hall and sat down in one of the chairs. Nick walked up and sat down beside him.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Nick asked him.

"She has been my daughter since she was a baby, after her parents had died," Ardeth told him with a nod.

"I've only had Patrick and Sarah for a few years now, after their parents were arrested. I've had this strange attachment to them from the first moment I saw them. I'm not sure what I would do if anything happened to them. I guess I would feel I failed them," Nick told Ardeth.

Ardeth looked up to see Harriet standing in front of them. Ardeth stood up with a worried look on his face.

"How is she?" he asked with a pleading voice.

"She'll be fine. The baby hasn't come yet but I have a feeling it will soon. She thought she was going into labour but she wasn't. So she's going to stay right where she is until furter notice since it is nearly time. Is this her first child?" Harriet replied.

"Yes, it is," Ardeth told her. "May I go in to see her now?"

"Yes, of course," Harriet said as she led the way.

Ardeth followed her into one of the rooms, where Catlanda was lying in a bed. She had her eyes closed and was calmly breathing. Ardeth sat in the chair next to her as Harriet quietly made her way out the door. Harriet walked up to Rick and Evie, who seemed a bit anxious to know Catlanda'a condition.

"She'll be fine. Right now, she needs some rest. The baby could some at any time and she needs her strength," Harriet told them.

"I'm glad she's alright. But how she became pregnant in the first place is confusing me," Evie said.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you that Evelyn. Only they can tell you that," Harriet said as Rae, Letty, Matt and Jules walked up to them.

"So where's this guy that looks exactly like Nick?" asked Letty.

"In the room with his daughter," replied Harriet as she flipped through her papers.

The group nodded as Jackie and Nick walked up to the group. They looked at each other as if to say 'what do we do now?' It was Rick who decided to break the silence.

"So what are we going to do? There's some psycho loose in time and the one who knows the most about him can't do anything to help us at the moment," Rick wondered.

"What we have to do now is wait Rick. We know we have to find the third man but he could be anywhere right now. We have to do some searching without the Spire," Rae told him. "At least until Cat feels better to do something."

"What do we know right now? We know that Ardeth and Nick are two of the men we're looking for. We have to find a third that could be anywhere at this moment. All of you have something in common, which is adopted children. There's a man called the Time Traveller who's out to kill the three of them. Anybody care to add anything?" Evie started.

Nobody said anything as Sarah and Patrick walked up to the group.

"Hey Rick, how're you doing?" Sarah asked with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm doing fine under the circumstances," he replied with a sigh.

"Why? What's wrong?" Patrick said cautiously.

"Nick's in danger along with two other men. One's here and we have to find the other one," replied Jules.

"You're kidding, right? This has got to be a joke, " Patrick said in disbelief.

"No joke Patrick. This is serious," Jackie told him.

The brother and sister looked at each other with worry. They weren't certain what to expect now.

00000

Cody knocked on the door of the hotel room to have Michelle answer it.

"Hey Cody, how're you doing?" she asked him with a smile.

"I'm good. Came to tell you to meet us in the lobby in 10 minutes. We're going to go out then," he told her, giving her a smile back.

"Okay," Michelle replied as Monica and Alex walked up to the door.

"We're ready now. Let's go," Alex said as they walked out the door.

The four headed down to the lobby where they met up with Frank and Jake. So the six walked out of the hotel and onto the streets of San Fransisco.

"Okay, where do we start?" wondered Michelle.

Frank glared at her and she saw him do so out of the corner of her eye.

"I just thought I'd ask. You think the 'bring Mika here and we'll do all the work' plan is going to work and that's it? No way. I'm helping out. I can do this," she told him.

Frank shook his head in defeat, causing her to cheer. The others laughed.

"Let's split up and search in groups of three. We'll cover more ground that way," Frank told them. "Monica, you're with Jake and Alex. Michelle, Cody, you're with me."

They nodded before they climbed in the rental vehicles and went into their separate directions.

Some time later, they all met in a nearby park. They climbed out of their vehicles and gathered together near a bench.

"So what have we found?" asked Frank.

"Nothing much. This man we're after is apparently very good at eluding police and everyone else for that matter. Some people think they saw him but they're not entirely certain," Jake told him.

He watched Michelle as she walked over to the flock of ducks. She smiled as she stared at them. Jake looked away as Cody stepped forward and stood a few feet away from her.

"What can we do now? We don't know where to look for him. Heck, we're not entirely sure who we're after," Monica mentioned to the group.

"That's right. I say we do what we can do and figure it out from there," Alex agreed.

Not one of them saw a man walk into the park and stare at them. He smiled as his gaze went over each and every one of them. He began to make his way towards them. Cody turned towards the group and gave what he thought before looking towards the gate entrance. he had a smile on his face which soon disappeared once he saw the man heading towards them. The rest of the team followed his gaze and also saw the man.

"What's with him?" wondered Alex.

"Maybe he wants to feed the ducks," suggested Monica.

But they were horrified once the man pulled out a gun and aimed it right at Michelle. Cody ran for her and pushed her out of the way as the gun sounded. He landed hard on his shoulder and he cried out in pain as Frank and Jake went after the man, who decided to flee. Monica and Alex hurried over to Cody, who held onto his shoulder.

"Oh God. How bad does it hurt?" asked Monica.

"What do you think?" replied Cody as he lay on the ground in pain.

"We've got to get you to a hospital and that checked out, "Alex sighed as they helped him to his feet.

They helped him over to a car and they started towards a hospital. Michelle sat next to him the entire drive, helping him keep the injury steady. She felt around the shoulder area.

"Feels dislocated. We'll have to get this put back into place. I'd do it myself except I've learned to let the pros do it," Michelle said.

"What do you mean by that?" wondered Cody.

"What I mean is that I've seen it done before and it's not pretty. Not one thing I would want to do myself unless I was a doctor," she replied.

They helped him inside, where they waited for someone to help them. Matt walked up to them.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We were just attacked in the park. He landed on his shoulder and Michelle here thinks it might be dislocated," Monica told her.

Matt led them to an examining room where he concluded that it was dislocated.

"It's definately dislocated. It'll have to put it back in," he told him.

Cody nodded as another doctor walked into the room. Cody waited patienly as he was given painkillers. Several minutes went by before the bone was put back into place.

00000

Monica, Alex and Michelle sat out in the waiting room for Cody.

"What a way for this case to turn out. Cody gets hurt," Alex mumbled.

"You got that right," agreed Monica.

"Hope Frank and Jake are alright," Michelle said.

"I've never understood why you keep calling him Frank," Alex told her.

"Old habits die hard. Besides, I would feel a bit awkward if I called him by anything else unless he needed me to to otherwise," she replied as Letty and Jules walked around the corner.

"So where do you suggest we start looking?" Letty asked Jules.

"Now sure but we'll think of someplace to start. Oh yes, that's right. I've got meeting with Nick now!" Jules said.

"You'd better go," Letty told her with a smile.

"There you are. I've been waiting for you," came a familiar voice.

The three females in the waiting room perked up a bit and turned to where the voice came from for it sounded slightly familiar.

"This has got to be a joke. Does our Frank Donovan have a twin brother?" Alex asked the other two as Nick walked into view.

TBC...


	4. Meeting Face to Face to Face

Frank and Jake walked into the hospital and up to the waiting room. When they walked up to the woman in the lobby, Jake noticed how surprised she was. She almost acted as if she thought Frank should know his way around the place. As they headed up there, Jake made the assumption that Frank never noticed the woman's reaction. They met up with Monica and Alex.

"So how is he?" asked Jake.

"He'll be fine. It turned out to be a dislocated shoulder. Michelle's in with him now," Monica replied.

"How much longer?" wondered Frank.

"Not too much longer. They want to keep him just long enough so they know it's alright before he leaves," Monica told him.

"Good. He'll still be of use to us," Frank said as Letty and Rae walked by them.

They glanced over at Frank and had to do a double take. They glanced at each other.

"Isn't he on duty right now?" Letty asked Rae.

"He is. Maybe he got permission to go home early," Rae suggested as she started to walk towards the group. "Hey Nick!"

The four looked over at her with confused looks at the doctor as she walked over to them.

"You know these people Nick? And what's happening? Aren't you supposed to be working?" Rae asked them with a smile.

The four looked at each other before Frank stepped forward.

"I'm sorry but you must be mistaken but I'm not this 'Nick' you speak of. My name is..." Frank started.

But before he could finish, Rae gasped and dropped the folders she was holding. She stepped back one step.

"It just can't be him Rae. This is a big country! I never expected to see him here! And so soon!" Letty cried.

"I know! Who would've thought?" Rae agreed. "We've got to go find Nick and get Ardeth."

"Right. I'm going to have to ask you four to stay here. We have something very important to tell you when we get back," Letty told them as she and Rae hurried off.

The four looked at each other. Jake, Alex and Monica all shrugged their shoulders. Frank, on the other hand, was certain that something was going to be explained really soon.

00000

Ardeth was sitting in the chair when he heard a small gasp come from the bed. He looked up to see Catlanda has her eyes open and looking around. She soon came to Ardeth and smiled.

"Father," she quietly said.

"Catlanda," he replied with a smile.

"Has the child...?" she started.

"It has not come yet Catlanda," he said as he held her hand.

Catlanda looked away from him as Rae hurried up to the door. Ardeth looked at her.

"Ardeth, we need you," she told him as she gasped for air.

"What is wrong?" he asked her as he climbed to his feet.

"Come and see," came the reply.

Ardeth followed her down the hallway.

"What is so important, Letty, that it dragged me away from eating?" wondered Nick.

"You'll see," she replied as she pretty much dragged him down the hall.

They came to the waiting room and Nick gazed around it.

"What is here that I'm supposed to see?" he asked.

Letty looked around as well before noticing the four in the corner and Frank had his back to them. Letty hurried over to them. They stood up.

"What is so important?" demanded Jake.

"Yes, what is so important Letty? That you dragged me out here?" came Nick's voice.

She turned to see Nick walking over to them. Jake, Monica and Alex, who were all facing him, didn't say a word as they stared at him. Frank turned around and came face to face with himself. It turned into a staring contest.

"Frank Donovan," said Frank.

"Nicholas Kokoris," replied Nick.

Nothing was said after that between the two for neither knew exactly what to say. It was Jake who decided to break the silence.

"Listen, we've got to get behind this. Two men that look exactly alike meet up in a hospital in San Fransisco. Now I find something wrong with that," he said.

"And I feel there's more to this story," Monica added.

"Yes, like how did we both end up here?" asked Frank.

It was then that Michelle walked out of Cody's room. She was holding a book in her hands and reading it.

"Hey Frank, Cody's alright. After a few weeks, his shoulder will be better. In the meantime, I'll try and help with the computer work," she said as she looked up from the book.

She nearly screamed at the sight. She glanced between the two, unsure how to respond.

"Okay, now I've seen everything," she gasped.

Letty started to lead them towards an empty room. Once everyone got in, some sat down in chairs as others stood.

"Now can you tell us what's going on?" asked Alex.

"I'm really not the one to explain the situation to you. Rae will be here with him in a few minutes," Letty replied.

"And I am here to do so," came a voice.

Everyone looked at the doorway to see Ardeth standing there. Frank and his team were very surprised now.

00000

Ardeth walked down the hall towards the waiting room. He could only think one of two things that required his immediate attention; something happened to Nick or else they knew something about the third man.

His answer came as Frank Donovan and Michelle as he walked up to the crowd of chairs. He was surprised to see that all three men looked the same! He followed them to the room.

"Now I'm really freaking out. Care to explain?" Monica told Ardeth.

"This may be a bit of a shock to you but your friend here is needed to save millions of lives," Ardeth replied. "There is a man called the Time Traveller. He is as his name says. He travels through time and he does so to create havoc and disorder. He has done so already and he will again. Now, he is after three men. Us. If he manages to kill us, then mayhem will follow. Starting in the place where each of us were born and spread outwards to the rest of the planet," Ardeth told them. "Including the children."

"Children?" Frank questioned.

"We all have children, correct?" Ardeth told him.

"Of course, Michelle," Frank said.

"Sarah and Patrick," Nick also said.

Ardeth looked between Michelle and Frank before finally looking at him.

"She does not look like you," Ardeth told him.

"That's because she's not mine. I adopted her," Frank replied.

"I have a daughter as well. She looks just like her mother. The wife of my best friend, both of whom are now dead," Ardeth replied.

"I see now. Adopted children! That's what all of you have in common besides your looks is the kids you took in as your own!" Monica said.

"Now we know why. What do we do about it?" wondered Jake.

00000

Catlanda laid in the bed. Ardeth had left the Spire beside her and held onto it with a death grip. The eyes glowed and she became worried.

_'He's here! The third man has to be! The Time Traveller is on his way here!'_ she thought to herself as she tried to climb over the bars to keep her in the bed but to no success.

She gazed over them before lifting the Spire.

"Spire, take these things away," she told it. "And put that spell back on me where only the ones we have told can see my pregnancy."

The eyes glowed again and the bar disappeared before she climbed off of the bed. She walked out of the room and down the hallway. Along the way, Rick and Evie hurried up to her.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Evie asked her.

"Yeah, considering you're expecting anytime now," Rick agreed.

"I have to do this, whether I am with child or not," she angrily told them as she stopped. "My father's life is in danger and you're worried about me. Right now, I am thinking about my child. I want my child to have a grandfather."

She headed towards Ardeth's position with Rick and Evelyn on her tail. Soon, Sarah and Patrick walked into the hall. They stopped and looked down the entire way before they saw the three. They walked up to them but Catlanda went past them.

"What's with her?" wondered Patrick.

"Maybe you'd better come with. It deals with Nick," Rick told them before they hurried after Catlanda.

"I have one question. 'Time travel?' I thought that was something only in theory," Michelle wondered.

"My friends and I have ways of doing so though the Time Traveller can because the power is bound to him through magic," Ardeth explained.

"Friends?" asked Monica.

"Two friends of mine came with my daughter and myself to this time. We are from the year 1939. I am not sure about today but there is only way of time travel where we come from," Ardeth explained.

"No offense but that is something I don't seem to swallow," Alex said as the others nodded in agreement.

"Spire, map of the time stream," came a voice.

A woman walked into the room as a map appeared, hovering in the air. She walked up to it and lifted a hand up to it.

"This is our position in time right now," she said as she pointed to one blinking light before pointing to another. "This is the man that is our problem. As you can see, he is far into the future, planting his seeds of darkness. If he lives, they will grow and occur eventually. If we stop him, they will wither up and die. They will never exist if we stop him."

"And you should be in bed," Ardeth told her.

"I know Ardeth. I feel this is more important than my well being," she replied.

"What about the child?" he wondered in Arabic.

"My child will be fine," she told him in the same language as Sarah and Patrick looked in on the group.

"So what you're saying is that this guy actually likes terror and chaos?" asked Monica as she stood up from her chair.

"Yes, he does. All the disasters, catastrophes, whatever you want to call them, has been the direct result of his meddling. He _made_ them happen. You really thought they happened on their own? Well, they didn't," Catlanda told them as they walked out of the room.

"I still cannot believe it," Nick said. "We are chosen to save the world."

"I know. That's crazy. After what happened last year to Jackie, it's amazing," Letty mumbled.

"Somone better tell Cody," Frank mentioned.

"I will," Michelle said as she headed towards his room though she stopped not too far away. "Though maybe one of them should come with. It'll make explaining a lot easier."

Nick looked over at Ardeth, who took that moment to help Catlanda into a chair. He knelt before her.

"I'll go with you," he offered as he walked after her towards Cody's room.

"Still unbelievable that this is happening," muttered Rae. "The third man shows up out of nowhere and they have to save the world."

Michelle walked up to Cody, who looked at her.

"So when can we go?" he asked her with a smile.

"Probably not for a bit yet. Cody, we have a slight problem," she told him.

"What's that now? Nothing can ruin this trip now, even though I had my shoulder dislocated. Reminds me. I'll never be able to type again!" Cody almost screamed out the last sentence.

Michelle laughed, realizing that Cody knew they were in a hospital.

"Oh yes you will Cody. I know you will though this is very serious Cody," she told him as she calmed down.

"Tell me," Cody told her.

He saw her hesitate.

"Frank's been chosen to save the world along with two other men that look just like him," she finally told him.

"What? Save the world? From who? How?" Cody wondered. "Besides, there's only one man with Frank Donovan's looks and that's Frank Donovan."

"By a man called the Time Traveller and I thought you might say that so here it is. Doctor Kokoris," she said as she turned towards the door.

Cody gasped as Nick walked into the room.

"I don't believe it!" he said, shaking his head.

TBC...


	5. First Encounter of the Time Traveller

"This can't be happening!" cried Cody.

"No, we're not Mr. Forrester. This is all apparently real. We were chosen to defeat or be defeated. Those are our only two choices," Nick told him.

Cody looked away from them, taking this all in at once.

"Alright. Frank is one of three men who have to save a lot of people today and in the future," Cody finally said in acceptance.

Michelle and Nick nodded as they looked at each other.

Frank paced back and forth in the waiting room. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and he was certain the rest of his team wasn't either. He put a hand over his mouth and thought about all that had been said to him and the others. Monica walked up to him.

"Frank, I know this is a lot to take in since it's been such a short time," she told him.

Frank nodded his head as he gazed over to Cody's room. He was walking out with Michelle and Nick. Cody looked between Nick, Frank and Ardeth, amazement in his eyes.

"I see and it and I still don't believe it! Are you three sure you're not brothers?" he asked them.

"We have never met before now," Nick replied as he stood beside Frank.

Cody looked between the three until he got a headache. He put his good hand on his forehead. Michelle put her hand on his shoulder.

As this was happening, Ardeth and Harriet began to help Catlanda down to her room.

"What will happen now?" Rae wondered as she walked up to them.

No one answered because noone knew what to say just yet. Everybody watched as Frank decided to go down the hallway in the same direction as Ardeth, Catlanda and Harriet before stopping a few feet away.

"What was wrong with her?" wondered Frank.

His team nodded in agreement as the doctors, Rick and Evie all looked at each.

"We're really not the ones to tell you that. They are. If you want to find out, then you'd have to ask them about it. Heck, we don't even know the entire story," Evie replied as she stepped towards Frank.

00000

The Time Traveller soon reached the year of 2004. He stared at the scene before him. It was of a hospital and three men could be seen in the picture amongst a large group. He snickered as he looked at this scene.

"This is too easy. The three of them all in one spot so I can take them out all at once. Their children will be destroyed as well. The sweet part is so will one unborn grandchild," he quietly told himself with a smile.

He walked into the picture and looked around the place before he turned down a corridor. He passed people along the way. They barely took notice of his presence as he did so, causing him to laugh quietly.

_'Fools, none of you know the danger you're in. This world will be soon finished, slowly and methodically, once I finish with these three men here. They are the one thing standing in my way of ultimate victory,'_ he thought to himself as he stared at each and every face that he passed him.

He turned the corner to see Catlanda leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

_'This is the one who carries the child. She carries the grandchild of one of the three men,'_ he said to himself. _'I can sense a great power surrounding her. What is it? I know it. Can't place it.'_

It dawned on him as Ardeth helped her walk down the hall, and he carried the Spire.

"She carries the Spire! She and him both will know who I am! I must leave before they spot me. They must not know I'm here yet," he quietly said.

He walked away from them and walked down another corridor as Ardeth helped Catlanda to the room she was staying in and into a chair.

"You should be up walking around Cat. This child can come at any moment and you are doing more that what you need to," Ardeth told her as he knelt before her.

"Father, our lives are at stake here. Your life most of all. If I do not do anything, this child might not have a man to call their grandfather or a woman to call mother. If I do nothing, this child might be born at all and I want it to be," she told him. "I want you to be this child's father figure, just like what you've done for me. I am no different except this child will have their mother at least."

Ardeth gazed at the sad look on her face.

"Come here," he told her as he reached out for her.

He put his arms around her as she held onto his arms. It was a bit awkward with her large stomach. Neither one of them noticed Frank standing outside the doorway, looking inside. He thought about Michelle, what he would do without her. He wondered what type of man he would be today without her around. He began to wonder what Nick or Ardeth would be without the people they called their 'children.' He bit his lip as he thought about what he had heard about Catlanda's delicate condition.

The Time Traveller walked down the hallway and into the waiting room, where he came across the strange looking group filled with doctors, Federal Agents and friends. He looked around at them and soon came to Nick, who was kneeling before Sarah. He was talking to her in Greek and she was nodding.

The Time Traveller smiled as he walked over to them.

"Hello, how is everything?" he asked them.

The group solemnly looked at the man standing before them. Nick couldn't help but stare at the man. He asked Sarah and Patrick something to which they said no. They asked why but he didn't answer as he climbed to his feet. The Time Traveller smiled as he looked at Nick.

"I believe we have met before Dr. Kokoris," he said as the smile turned into an evil one. "Now you will die along with all the people you ever knew."

Nick gasped as the man pulled out two swords. He lunged at the group, who just managed to get out of the way. Rae and Evie hurried in one direction as Jake and Rick went in another. Cody leaned against the wall as Michelle, Sarah and Patrick stood nearby. Letty, Monica and Alex were in another position.

It was then that Jackie, Matt, Harriet and Jules walked onto the scene. They stared at the man wielding the swords.

"What is going on here?" wondered Jackie as worry crept into her voice.

No one answered her before the man now wielded guns.

"Fear me for I am the Time Traveller!" he cried with a menacing laugh.

"The Time Traveller? He's here!" cried Evie as they all backed away from him.

The guns fired in two different directions before the man threw them to the floor and lunged at Nick. He pinned the man against the wall and began to punch him in the face repeatedly. Nick tried to free himself from his captor's grasp but couldn't. The Time Traveller saw this and laughed again.

"You will never get from me. I am too strong for anyone to defeat me," he laughed as another sword appeared in his hand.

Nick gasped as he stared at it through his eye that wasn't so swollen.

Ardeth heard the commotion from down the hall in Catlanda's room. He hurried from her side and out the door to see Frank standing there, looking down the hall. Harriet hurried along side them, looking in the same direction.

"What do you suppose is going on?" she wondered as the three stared at each other.

"I am not sure but we go and find out. They might need our help. Watch Catlanda for me please?" Ardeth asked of Harriet. "She should not be part of this."

She nodded before he and Frank hurried down the hallway to be greeted by the scene before them. They were surprised at this. Sarah was screaming, trying to break free of Jake's grasp. The man strangling Nick turned to look at them, the same evil smile on his face.

"Well, what do you know? The party's all here!" he said, laughter written all over his voice.

He let go of Nick, who slid down the wall. Jules and Letty hurried up to him as he coughed a few times. The two women looked up at the menacing man to see he was headed over to Ardeth and Frank, who were slowly backing away.

"We have to lead him away from all these people!" Ardeth told Frank, who nodded.

"We can't having him hurt innocent people," Frank said.

They hurried away and soon split into two different corridors. The Time Traveller looked down both of them before going after Frank.

Frank looked behind him to see the man was after him.

"Oh great," he said as he headed towards the stairs.

He opened the door and started to walk down them. The Time Traveller watched him do so before stepping away from the door.

Frank glanced up to see the man wasn't following him.

"Great. Just what I need. Someone who doesn't go after their intended target," he mumbled.

"Oh I go after my intended target Mr. Donovan. I just go about it differently than what everybody else does," came a voice.

Frank turned back around to see the man who was following him was now standing before him. Frank backed away as the man walked towards him.

"They haven't told you much about me if you didn't realize that I can travel through time," the man said with a snicker.

He punched Frank in the stomach and he doubled over in pain. He squinted his eyes as he backed against the wall.

"You will have never felt pain like what I'm about to give you or the other two men," the Time Traveller snickered as he lifted up his arm, his hand balled in a fist.

The hand came down across Frank's jaw. Frank thought he heard a crack but he wasn't exactly sure. Before he could register anything else, his arms were grabbed and roughly pushed onto the wall. Frank knew he heard a crack then in his right wrist. He tried to hide the pain from appearing on his face but couldn't help it as he hissed in pain.

"You will all DIE!!" cried the man as the man held onto Frank's arms tighter against the wall.

Frank thought he could feel more bones on the verge of breaking when Ardeth ran through the door, sword in hand.

"Leave him alone!" Ardeth called to him as he started down the stairs.

The man let Frank go and headed towards the Medjai chief.

"A man from the late 1930's challenges me? I have seen the future. I know what will happen," he snickered, holding out his arms.

"You only know what you are intending to do the world. All the disasters that have occured and will occur have been your own doing," Ardeth told him.

"But you are facing me, of all people, in a time that is beyond your comprehension," the Time Traveller told him as Ardeth began to back away from him.

Frank tried to yell out a warning but couldn't because of the pain his jaw was in. He was breathing heavily as he stared up at Ardeth. The two locked eyes and Ardeth seemed to know what Frank wanted him to know. A sword appeared in his hand and the two faced off in a sword fight. Ardeth knew right away that the moves he was performing were simliar to the ones he did when facing off against Lock-nah. How he remebered, he wasn't entirely sure.

Suddenly, he failed to block one of the man's punches and it connected with his nose. Ardeth dropped the sword and his hand went up to his face. He stared at the man looming over him. Ardeth grabbed the sword from off the floor but the Time Traveller was prepared. He had grabbed the fire extinguisher from off of the wall and aimed it right at Ardeth. The contents of the canister soon emptied onto Ardeth, who sputtered and tried to block the oncoming cloud.

Soon, the extunguisher was empty and it was thrown onto the ground next to the coughing Ardeth. He had collapsed onto this knees.

"You are no match for me," the man who towered above him said. "Now I will go after that precious daughter of yours. I will kill her, thus killing her baby. Then there will be no heir to the Medjai leadership, whether it be your 'daughter' or her child."

At that moment, he felt a strong buzzing in his ears. He covered his ears and looked to its origin. Catlanda was walking towards them, Spire in hand.

"You will not win this battle Traveller," she called to him.

"Too late Keeper, I've already won," he yelled back at her before disappearing into thin air.

She hurried up to Ardeth, who was now leaning against the wall. His eyes were shut tightly as a hand covered his face. She looked down at Frank to see he was in no better condition. Matt, Harriet and Rae hurried to the door to see the extent of the two men. They were surprised to see them in such condition. Matt went to Frank's side as Rae went to Ardeth. Harriet helped Catlanda get out of the way.

TBC...


	6. News and Results

"That guy packs a mean punch. Literally," Cody said as he looked over at Nick's swollen face.

Nick couldn't open his one eye, it was so swollen. As a matter of fact, the whole side of his face was swollen and bruised, from his eye to his chin and it even started to go down onto his neck. The group watched as Ardeth and Frank were brought up from the stairwell and both looked in terrible condition.

Ardeth was being led along, his eyes tightly closed and contents of the extinguisher still covering his face and clothes. Plus his nasal area appeared to be very red and swollen. Frank had a hand up to his jaw, rubbing it.

"What happened?" asked Jackie as she hurried up to the group of six.

"Ardeth and Frank were both attacked by this man. Frank got punched in the jaw and in the stomach. We believe Ardeth didn't inhale too much of the fire extinguisher's contents and his nose is obviously broken," Matt explained as he and Rae led the two into an examining room.

Jules soon led Nick into that same room so he could get his face looked over and the group of people watched as Harriet, Alex and Catlanda walked down the hallway after them.

"I don't believe you should be doing this. You're overexerting yourself at such a critical time of your pregnancy," Harriet told Catlanda.

"My father was attacked Harriet. That is a good enough reason not to worry about myself at this moment and about him," she told her as she stopped.

Harriet stopped as well as faced the woman. Alex stood behind them.

"Sarah and Patrick are worried about Nick right now as well. He was attacked as well," Harriet said to her.

"As is Michelle with Frank. They're a family," Alex agreed.

"How old were they?" Catlanda asked them.

Alex and Harriet glanced at each other, confused.

"What you mean by that?" wondered Alex.

"How old were they when they were taken in? Adopted?" Catlanda replied.

"Why, Michelle was 14," Alex told her.

"Sarah was 15 and Patrick was 18. Why do you ask?" replied Harriet.

"Because I was only months old when Ardeth took me in as his own. I grew up, believing Ardeth was my father and his mother was my grandmother, believing that my mother was killed when I was a baby. When I was old enough to understand, he told me what happened to my real parents, that they were killed because of greed. How would you feel if that happened to you?" she asked the doctor and Federal Agent.

Neither could come up with an answer, confirming what Catlanda was trying to say: that it wasn't exactly the same.

"I thought so but despite this, I have always have considered Ardeth Bay my father, I know not in blood but in heart. He has done everything in his power to keep me from harm everyday, even if he is far away and unable to be with me," she whispered as she turned around and headed back down towards the room.

Both Harriet and Alex felt a little guilty at what they assumed about her. They now knew the two shared an even deeper bond that what everyone first thought. The two Medjai had complete trust in each other.

00000

Ardeth closed his eyes tightly as they were flushed out with water. He was coughing quite a bit as the contents began to make a bigger appearance in his mouth so Rae gave him a basin to spit into. Once he stopped, she pulled out a stethoscope.

"I better check your lungs now," she said as she put it against his chest. "Now I'd like you to give me a few deep breaths."

Ardeth nodded as he listened to what she said. Frank was across the room having his jaw examined by Matt.

"It doesn't appear to be broken though it's probably just badly bruised. Just be careful," Matt told him.

Frank nodded as Matt finished with what he was doing. Matt watched him leave until he saw Frank's swollen wrist.

"Hey, wait a minute Frank. Let me check your wrist before you go," Matt called to him.

Frank stopped and headed back to him. Matt looked at Frank's arm. The Federal Agent impatiently waited for Matt to finish what he was doing.

"Can you move it? Does it hurt?" asked Matt.

Frank shook his head as he tried to move his fingers but couldn't.

"I say it was sprained. Nothing more," Matt said as he grabbed some bandages and wrapped Frank's arm with it.

Frank slightly moved his fingers before walking out of the room. Matt watched him leave as he walked over to Rae, who finished with Ardeth.

"You sound alright. Looks like you didn't inhale that much Ardeth. Consider yourself a lucky man," she told him as he climbed to his feet. "It could've easily been much worse."

Ardeth walked out of the room as Rae and Matt walked up to Jules, who was attending to Nick. He was looking towards the window as she placed some ice on the massive bruising and swelling. His one eye was completely swollen shut.

"How're you feeling Nick?" asked Rae.

"I've been better. How's everybody?" he quietly asked them.

"They're fine. You, Ardeth and Frank got the worst of it. Ardeth might be a bit dizzy still from the extinguisher and Frank seems to be doing alright. I suppose his jaw hurts a bit, as does his arm, but I think he'll be fine," Matt told him. "And I'm also happy that Catlanda is doing alright after this. She is, after all, nearly due."

The others nodded in agreement.

Ardeth and Frank walked out of the room to be greeted by the three women.

"Catlanda, what are you doing here?" wondered Ardeth, amazed.

"What do you think I am doing here?" she told him as she put her arms around him.

Ardeth did the same as he closed his eyes. Alex walked up to Frank as the two of them began to walk away, as did Harriet.

The three left the two where they were and headed for the waiting room. Once there, Michelle hurried up to Frank and put her arms around him.

"Frank, how're you feeling?" she desperately asked him.

"I'll be fine," he replied as he put his good arm around her.

Cody, Monica and Jake hurried up to them.

"Now we've finally met this guy. He's strong and he's definately after these three. Does anyone know the way to stop this guy? Or do we have to ask Catlanda and Ardeth?" wondered Jake.

"Ask Catlanda and Ardeth," they all agreed.

"We've known them for years yet we still don't know everything about them or what they know about these things," Evie said.

Rick nodded in agreement.

"I mean, we never knew about Catlanda until years after the battle with the Scorpion King. It was only when you decided to go after that jewel of that pharaoh," Rick told Evie.

"Well, we would have never found out about Catlanda then! If we did, it might not have been for another few years. Not only that, Ramses might've actually won that battle if he had no resistance from us or the Medjai," Evie replied.

"Not necessarily," Rick replied.

Rick gave a sigh as he noticed Ardeth helping Catlanda walk into the room. He helped her into a chair. He talked to her in Arabic for a moment before turning to face the group.

"Ardeth, how are we supposed to kill this guy we can't get near him? And the fact he's way stronger than the three of you put together," Rick wondered as he walked up beside Jake.

"We know little about him. What we do know is not good. We do not know how to defeat him, we just know who he's after and what he is as of now," Ardeth replied.

Jake threw up his arms.

"Great. Just great. Now what were we supposed to do? I mean, Frank nearly got killed because of the lack of knowledge that you possess," he angrily replied as he walked up to the female Medjai.

He towered above her and she appeared to be very nervous as she clutched her stomach. Jake noticed this and wondered why.

"Jake, leave her alone. She doesn't need to be questioned about anything at the moment," Frank sternly told him.

"Huh?" wondered Jake as he turned to stare at his boss.

He had never seen Frank do something like that before. Standing up for a total stranger. Cody and Monica were also a bit confused but Alex wasn't. She knew about her pregnancy. She remembered that Harriet mentioned it.

"We should really go get some sleep. We'll need it for the upcoming battle," Jules suggested as she stepped forward.

The group nodded.

"Now what are we going to do for accomodations?" wondered Letty. "They all can't stay here."

"We're in a hotel nearby. That's where we're staying," Cody said with some pain in his voice as Michelle stood next to him.

"I vote that the O'Connells stay with us!" cried Sarah as she raised her hand.

"Sarah!!" they all cried.

"What?" she asked with a smile as she lifted her arms.

"I suggest Catlanda and Ardeth stay here in case something should happen," Harriet mentioned to the others.

"I will be fine Harriet. I would prefer not to stay here. No offense to you fine people but I would rather be in a place where I can rest more easily. Besides, you need the bed for other people," came a quiet voice.

Matt looked towards where the voice came from. He saw Catlanda nearly asleep in the chair.

"I think we'd better get her to a bed now before she does decide to fall asleep here," he suggested as Harriet nodded.

"Then they will stay with me," Harriet offered.

The group began to leave for the night but stayed where he was for a moment as he rubbed his arm. When no one was looking, he grimaced in pain, almost hissing. Alex glanced back and saw this action. She became slightly worried about Frank keeping an injury from them. She thought against confronting him now.

00000

Jake walked up to Frank once they were in the hotel room.

"Frank, why'd you tell me to leave that woman alone?" he demanded.

"I didn't see how verbally attacking a woman will solve anything," came the reply.

Jake was a bit surprised by this answer.

"There's something more going on here Frank. What is it that you know?" Jake asked him cautiously.

"I know nothing," he lied.

"I'll believe that the day that Frank Donovan will admit that he's in pain before he says he's not," Jake replied.

Frank sighed as he stared at his friend before standing up fully. His gaze pierced Jake right in his eyes and he gulped at what was to come.

"I do know something Jake. You know the doctors said there was something about them that they were the ones to tell us? Well I found out by accident. She's pregnant and doesn't need to be bothered at this critical stage," Frank told him.

Jake's eyes and mouth opened at the statement.

TBC...


	7. Worst Case Scenario Or is it?

Author's Note-I wanted to warn you. There's going to be a scene of incest in here. It's not graphic and just don't hurt me about it until you read the entire chap, please!

00000

Nick was being led out to the car by Sarah as Patrick hurried up to the car to start it. Rick and Evie were following them. She was looking at her surroundings in awe.

"This is a magnificient world. I wonder if we are alive in this time?" Evie wondered.

"We might not be though Alex might and our grandchildren if we have any," Rick called back to her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along with.

She allowed herself to be dragged along towards the car. Rick put her into the car before climbing inside himself.

"Listen Evie, we're here for a reason and we have no idea what it is yet. You know Alex, Jonathan and a few others will be joining us soon. We have to find a way to stop this guy before he really does kill Ardeth and everybody else on this planet," Rick told her.

"I understand Rick. We do have to find a way to help. I don't believe we are just along for the ride," Evie agreed.

Sarah looked between them and sighed.

"We are all wondering what is going to happen. We're all worried for everybody you know," she told them as Patrick stopped the car in front of their house.

Everyone got out and headed into the building. Nick held some ice on his face as they did so. He sat down on the couch once he walked inside. He gave a deep sigh as Patrick and Sarah sat down on either side him.

"That is bad," she said to him in Greek.

"Yes, it is," he replied as he closed his eyes. "Now show our guests to a room. They'll need a place to sleep during their stay."

Sarah and Patrick nodded as they stood up and led the couple to their room.

00000

"You can't be serious Frank. That woman is not pregnant. She simply doesn't look it. You must hallucinating. Did you take a blow to the head and now you're seeing things?" Jake demanded.

He walked towards Frank but the man backed away.

"I did not get hit over the head Jake. I know what I heard and saw. But of course, they have to let them tell us," Frank replied.

He cautiously walked over to the bed as a knock came to the door.

"You're seeing things that aren't there," Jake quietly told him.

Cody clumsily opened the door and Michelle walked inside. She walked up to Frank, a mild look of concenr written all over her face.

"Are you alright Frank? I forgot to ask you earlier," she told him.

"I'm fine, believe me. It's nothing serious," he replied.

Michelle nodded as she glanced at his swollen wrist. She took note of everything she could before she decided to leave the room. Cody and Jake looked at him as she did so. They were really wondering, and worried, with what was going to happen.

00000

Ardeth helped Catlanda into the house. Harriet led them to a bedroom where the female Medjai immediately laid on the bed and closed her eyes. Ardeth watched her as she fell asleep right where she was. Harriet stood in the doorway keeping her watchful eye on them the entire time.

"She should really be at the hospital," Harriet told him as she walked a few steps.

"No, this is where she desires to be instead. She is thinking of the people here in this time that need help more than herself. Right now, all we can do is wait for the next attack," Ardeth told her, exhaustion evident in his voice.

"Get some sleep Ardeth. You need it," the doctor said to him

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ardeth nodded, a small smile on his face, but it was apparent that he wasn't going to be moving anytime soon.

"I will stay in here with Cat. She might need me," he sighed.

His eyes began to droop a bit. Harriet noticed this but said nothing as she left the room, allowing Ardeth to finally gave in to sleep by the bed.

00000

Nick was running down the hospital, looking down every corridor. His face was healed but appeared to be very frantic.

"Sarah! Patrick! Where are you?" he called out as he stopped once.

Hearing no answer, he continued on down the hall. Soon, he came across a room. Inside it, were the siblings' parents. They had their children tied to beds and were torturing them with a whip and other objects, which could be seen nearby, He gasped as his eyes widened at the sight. He tried to run inside but he met resistance along the way. He couldn't get past the doorframe. He pounded his hands against the invisible force and began yelling at the two people to stop but they wouldn't listen to him.

"Stop it!" he cried. "Let them be!"

"Nick!" cried Sarah. "Make them stop! Please!"

She couldn't help but submit as her own father began to strip her of her clothes as she lay tied to the bed. The same thing was happening between Patrick and his own mother. Nick couldn't believe what he was watching as they were being forced to be intimate with their own parents.

Both succumbed to the darkness as the onslaught of pain cascaded onto them through the act until they both raised knives and stabbed each of them through the chest.

Henry walked out the door and over to Nick. The man towered above the surgeon before punching and kicking him everywhere. Nick soon fell to the ground, unconscious.

00000

Ardeth held a gasp as he looked around the place. He was back in Egypt at was an obvious sight of a Medjai tribe. His tribe. He felt as if there was something missing from the picture. Dead bodies littered the place but he soon came to what he was searching for. The scene looked a bit familiar as he saw Catlanda laying in one of the tents.

"Catlanda!" he cried as he hurried over to her lifeless body.

A hand laid on her bulging stomach. He stared at the blood that covered her face and body. She opened her eyes and stared at him.

"Ramses was awakened. We couldn't stop him," she whispered to him. "Dad, don't leave me."

"I would never let you come to harm. It was the promise I made after you were born," Ardeth said as he grasped her hand. "And to stay close to you. You were your real father's pride and joy."

"I know that and I am sorry Dad, but I fear that two more lives are going to be lost here today," she told him before she took her final breath.

Ardeth couldn't believe what had happened. Catlanda, the one he has been calling his daughter since she was a baby, was dead. He barely noticed the Spire was gone. Isis lay dead beside her master as Geb lay severely injured on the ground outside. Ardeth choked before grabbing a nearby sword and running himself through with it. He gasped once he did so and fell to the sand, dead.

00000

Frank wandered down a lonely alleyway. He slightly wondered where he was before he realized he was in Death Alley: the place where he first met Michelle face to face. He was inwardly worried about what was going to happen. The alley was dark. So dark that he could barely see where he was going.

All of a sudden, he came across the entrance to the alley and walked out of it. The sidewalk was illuminated by a single streetlight as he began to walk down it until he came across a bloody mess. He began to feel sick as he stared at it longer. It was at that moment he saw a familiar body in the midst of the mess.

Michelle.

He hurried over to her side and cradled her in his arms. He didn't care that he was getting blood all over him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Mika," was all he managed to say.

She slightly opened his eyes and gave a smile.

"Frank, you're here. It was Joseph Denner who did this. He attacked me. Looks like I didn't win after all. He won in the end. He'll kill again," she quietly told him as she went limp in his arms.

Tears fell from his eyes as he held her close to his body. He cried out in anger and he laid the body on the ground and walked over to a nearby building, punching it with all his might before he crumbled to the ground in a sobbing mess.

"Oh nice. You all reacted the way I wanted you to and expected," came a sinister voice.

Frank twirled around and saw a man standing there. He gasped once he saw who it was. It was the Time Traveller. The same man who had attacked Frank, Nick and Ardeth. The same man who Frank had seen at the Nest a few days earlier. The man raised a hand and Michelle's body lifted off the ground and it stopped in front of him.

"Four children, all meaning the world to you. The oldest one is pregnant," the man said as he snapped his fingers and Catlanda's lifeless form appeared beside him as did Ardeth's on the ground beside Frank.

Ardeth gave a deep breath as he opened his eyes and painfully stood up.

"She could've died alongside her parents. Laron could've gotten the Spire and achieved ultimate victory over the Medjai and Egypt and eventually the world. Aiding Ramses, of course, who would've had his entire jewel once again. The youngest was once a thief and a very good one at that. If I had done something about it, she would have gone on to become the world's greatest cat burglar though as she got older, it would have become more high-tech," the Time Traveller went on. "Then there's the two in between."

He snapped his fingers and then appeared Sarah and Patrick. Nick appeared behind the two men already there before standing up, a hand on his stomach. He stared at the scene as the man continued on.

"These two could have easily stayed with their parents and be exploited for the rest of their precious lives but of course, those realities never happened because of you three. Be warned for I will be back. And this time, I will not be after you," the Time Traveller told them before he disappeared into a cloud of smoke.

00000

Ardeth awoke with a start, a massive pain in his side and sweat all over his face. He groaned as he put a hand on it and stared at Catlanda. She was sound asleep in the bed, not a scratch on her. He sighed as he put his head on the edge of the bed.

00000

Nick awoke in a cold sweat. He slowly sat up in the bed, feeling pain all over his body and looked around, a hand on his face. He was wondering what just happened.

He groaned as he climbed out of bed and looked in each of Sarah's and Patrick's room to see they were sleeping. He gave a sigh as he stood out in the hall and leaned near the door to his room.

00000

Frank bolted up on the bed. He looked at Cody and Jake. They weren't awaken by his sudden movement. He was glad as he gasped for air, sweat rolling down his face. His wrist now pounded with pain.

_'I should have this checked but what was that all about?'_ he asked himself as he walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain. _'What does it mean? Was it all just a dream? The part where Mika was dead has to be.'_

He stared out at the starlit sky. The full moon gave an eerie sense to the whole scene as it peeked through the leaves on the trees. Frank soon found himself staring at the hypnotic sight.

_'Is he going to come after the children now?'_ he thought to himself.

TBC...


	8. Another Encounter of the Time Traveller

Catlanda awoke to seeing Ardeth wide awake at the foot of the bed. It was obvious that he was tired as she sat up.

"Ardeth, what's wrong?" she asked him.

Ardeth looked over at her and smiled before putting a hand on her leg.

"Nothing's wrong Cat. Nothing really," he replied.

Catlanda knew he was lying as she watched him turn and grimace slightly.

"Father! You need some help. Were you injured more that what you let on?" she told him as Harriet walked into the room.

"I heard voices so I wanted to check up on you," she said.

She stopped short once Ardeth fell to the floor. Harriet hurried over to him as did Catlanda. Harriet felt for a pulse and she found a strong one. She gave a sigh as she did so. He groaned as he opened his eyes slightly.

"I'll be fine," he quietly told them once he saw them both hovering over him.

Catlanda and Harriet gave each other looks of worry.

00000

Patrick walked out into the living room to see Nick sitting on the couch, his face in his hands. Patrick hurried up to him, worried. The young man held onto the surgeon's arms as he blankly looked at him.

"Something's wrong. I'm taking you to the hospital," Patrick told him.

"I'm fine. I just had a bad night," whispered Nick as he broke free from the grasp.

"Then it must have been one heck of a night. You look like you were beaten up by someone. Actually, you were," Patrick told him as he moved the surgeon's hands. "Come on, let's go and make sure these bruises are alright."

00000

Cody painfully woke up. He slowly rose to a sitting position to see Frank sitting in a chair by the window.

"Frank, what's wrong?" he asked as Jake stirred from his sleep.

Frank looked at them and shook his head. Jake climbed out of bed and walked over to him to see nothing out of the ordinary.

"We should get back to the hospital. We should find out as much as we can about what is happening," Jake said.

Frank nodded as he sat up. It was then that Cody noticed the redness on Frank's arm.

"Frank, are you alright?" he asked him.

Frank looked at him, a bit confused until Cody pointed at his arm. Frank glanced at it before pulling the sleeve down.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," replied Frank. "Let's get going."

He headed out the door and down the hall. Cody and Jake looked at each other in confusion. Jake shrugged his shoulders. Frank knocked on the door and Michelle answered it.

"We're going to back to the hospital. How soon can you three be ready?" he asked her.

Michelle turned to look at Monica and Alex, who had heard what Frank asked.

"Well, how soon can we be ready?" the teen asked them.

"15 minutes maybe? That's all we need," Monica said as she looked at Alex, who nodded.

Michelle also agreed with this as Frank nodded before leaving them. Alex closely watched him, taking notice of his arm. It appeared to be still sore. She decided against saying anything to him just yet.

00000

Nick and Patrick walked into the lobby with Sarah, Rick and Evie right behind them. They looked around before heading upstairs. They were greeted by everyone from the day before.

"We have to do something about this guy. He's obviously a threat to us all," Frank said to the group.

They all nodded as a bright light appeared in the room.

"What is going on here?" wondered Alex.

"I'm not sure. Where is it coming from?" replied Matt.

"It's almost as if it's coming from this room," Cody said as he shielded his eyes with his good hand.

Monica looked over at Catlanda to see the Spire was emitting the bright light. The female Medjai lifted it up and the light lasted only seconds longer.

"Catlanda, what was that all about?" she asked.

"I would say that Guardian of Isis' temple is trying to contact us," Catlanda replied.

The group was surprised to hear this, except Ardeth, Rick and Evie of course.

"Isis? The Egyptian goddess Isis? That can't be! The gods are a myth!" Jules said in disbelief.

"Isis exists. So do the others. I have never met her personally though I have heard much about her through the Spire," Catlanda explained to them.

An apparition appeared before them in the middle of the room. The group gasped as they watched the figure gaze over everyone.

"I see you have made it here safely. The time stream is off. You must defeat the Time Traveller soon! Who knows what he has planned next in the near future? The others will not be joining you just yet but they will have to soon. You will see their purpose when the time comes," the Guardian told them. "Now you must be careful! The Time Traveller is still there in your time!"

The group looked at each other, all knowing they had to stop the man really soon.

"As of right now, he is planning his next move. I am unable to tell you what it is. His mind is hard to decipher, even for the best of profilers," she said before disappearing.

Everybody looked at each other, the tension heavy in the air.

"We have to be careful," Cody said to the others, who nodded in agreement.

00000

Some time later, Ardeth, Catlanda, Rick, Evie, Frank, Michelle, Jake, Cody, Monica, Alex, Harriet, Jackie and Letty were in the park, walking around. The five Federal Agents, two Medjai, two travellers and one teenager all wanted to see the park and the three doctors gladly volunteered to show them around.

Ardeth looked over at the trees as Michelle walked over to him.

"Beautiful place, isn't it?" she asked him. "I suppose you don't see anything like this in Egypt."

"It is beautiful and no, we do not," he replied.

Harriet walked over to Catlanda as Jake walked on the other side of her.

"Are you alright?" the doctor asked her.

"Harriet, I will be fine. If I need any help, I will let you know," Catlanda calmly told her.

"Why? What's wrong?" wondered Cody.

"That's right, I haven't told you yet. I'm pregnant," she replied.

Jake held his breath for a moment. He realized that Frank was right. The woman was expecting a child. He was even more surprised when he now saw the evidence of her pregnancy.

"We have to be careful. The Traveller can strike at any time, literally," she warned them.

The others nodded, knowing the danger all too well. The other doctors continued on with their job, even Nick with his bruised face. Sarah and Patrick were doing their rounds, visiting the patients.

Rae and Matt were walking down the hall as Patrick and Nick were walking towards them. Rae looked up from her files and saw them. She gave a small smile.

"Nick, how're you feeling? Any better?" she asked him.

Nick glanced over at her.

"Somewhat better. I'll live though," he replied as the four stopped.

Patrick inwardly didn't believe him for he found Nick to hide even the most serious of injuries. He was worried about the man. Something happened the night before that worried him greatly. It was something else about the man that had changed overnight. It was if the man had become paranoid of their safety overnight. Patrick remembered as Nick didn't want to let him and his sister do their normal rounds. After a few tense moments, he relented.

"Are you really better Nick? Truly?" asked Patrick.

The three stared at him with slight confusion.

'Where did that come from?' he asked himself.

"What was that Pat?" asked Matt.

"Nothing," replied Patrick as he shook his head.

None of them noticed a man down the hallway, dressed in a trenchcoat, staring at them. He walked towards them and bumped into Patrick.

"I'm sorry," the man told him as he moved out of the way.

"It's alright. Forget about it," Patrick replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"But I won't," the man quietly said

The man quickly pulled a bat out from underneath his coat. He headed towards Patrick with it, who didn't have time to react. Nick saw this and jumped in between the bat and Patrick. The hard object hit him in the back and the air was knocked out of him. The two fell to the ground, Nick being in pain as the bat hit him two more times, once more in the back and once in the arm, before Matt pulled the man away from him.

Rae hurried over to Nick as Patrick carefully pulled himself out from under him. Nick groaned in pain as the man began to laugh from Matt's grasp.

"What is so funny?" demanded Matt.

"Your friend is paying the price of taking him in. Looks like he was good to worry about the brat. Now I'm going after someone else now," the man said, laughter still in his voice.

He broke from Matt's grip and disappeared around the corner, leaving three very worried people behind. Nick tried to stand up but Rae and Patrick tried to stop him.

"Nick, what're you trying to do? You just received some very serious injuries!" Rae told him.

"Must...go find...Sarah. He's after...her," he managed to say before closing his eyes.

The three gasped in fear.

"That must have been the Time Traveller! He's after the children now!" Matt voiced for the three of them. "Nick, you are not going to find Sarah, I will."

Nick grabbed his arm in protest, shaking his head.

"No! Let me!" Nick told him

He climbed to his feet with much help from Patrick and Rae. He stumbled down the hall to search for Sarah. He soon found her heading towards him from another hall. She saw him and became worried.

"Nick, what's wrong?" she asked as she quickened her pace.

She never noticed the man holding a gun behind her though Nick did. Once she was close enough, he lunged for her, shielding her from the shot as it sounded out though the level. He felt a pain in his shoulder before crumpling to the ground in pain. Sarah helped him down as the others ran over. Matt quickly put on a glove and pulled out the dart from Nick's shoulder. He stared at the place where the attacker once stood.

"We've got to get this stuff tested immediately! We have to find out what he was injected with so we can treat it!" Matt yelled out as he stood up.

Rae and Patrick stayed by Nick's side as a gurny was brought over to them. Nick was placed on it and was hurried to the ER.

00000

Harriet, Letty and Jackie led the group to a more secluded area of the park. It was of a clearing that was very serene. Almost everyone sat down, including Catlanda, who had some help from Jake and Frank. She leaned back against a tree as Michelle sat next to her. They all wanted to have some peace before the big battle that was inevitably going to be taking place in the near future.

"Catlanda?" Michelle said.

"Yes, Michelle?" she replied.

"Do you know what's going to happen?" she wondered.

"No, I do not. Ardeth does not know either. We will have to wait and see what happens. We will win, and the world is safe or we lose and the world is destroyed as we know it," Catlanda told her.

Michelle nodded as she watched Cody, who was still standing. She could tell he was still upset about the dislocated shoulder. It pained him both physically and mentally, even after the fact she told him she'd help him with his computer work.

Monica looked over at Frank, who was rubbing his arm. He glanced around and saw her staring at him. He immediately stopped with what he was doing and turned away. Alex walked over to Monica.

"Something's going on. I've never seen him so edgy before but I guess this whole mess with this guy has him shook up a bit," Alex whispered to her.

Monica nodded in agreement as they joined Cody and Jake over with Rick and Evie. The group continued to talk, never noticing a figure walk unnoticed by all of them. He stealthily walked over behind the tree Michelle and Catlanda were leaning up against before he grabbed Michelle around the neck and pulled her to her feet. She gasped for air as she felt metal against the side of her chin. She stared at the others around her with wide eyes.

"Be careful or the kid gets it," the man warned them.

Frank tried to grasp his gun but he fumbled with it and it fell to the ground. He knelt down to pick it up but couldn't as pain shot up his arm. Soon, he managed to pick it up but it hung loosely in his hand. His team saw this and they all gasped. They all knew something had to be wrong but that was not their main priority at the moment.

"She will die here and now if you come any closer," the man warned.

"It's the Time Traveller," muttered Jake as he aimed his gun at the man.

Alex did as well and she wasn't surprised at this either. Noone was as they stared at the man. There were a few tense moments before Frank couldn't stand to see the position Michelle was in. He ran for her and the man let her go to one side. The man prepared himself for the oncoming attack.

"Frank!" cried his team.

He didn't listen to them as he headed for the man. Before Frank could even get to the man, he felt a pain near his shoulder. He stopped and looked down at his shoulder to see a dagger sticking out of him. He could feel the stickiness of the blood running down his body. He fell to the ground. No one moved for they feared they would be attacked as well.

They carefully watched the man as he walked over to Catlanda, who was still sitting next to the tree. She tried to move away but she forgot about the tree right behind her.

Letty and Jackie took this time to run over to Frank, who was no longer conscious. They watched as the man lifted another dagger into the air over the pregnant woman.

"Get any closer and two lives will be lost really soon," he threatened. as he stared at Catlanda.

He put a hand on her stomach. It travelled downward until it rested above her groin area.

"I heard that a woman should not be engaging in sexual acts before and after one is about to have a baby. You move and I'll make sure your child has a rude welcome to this world. I won't be placing my you-know-what in you, but my fingers will gladly do the job if the need arises," he quietly told her.

Catlanda gulped as she quivered in fear not for herself, but for her child as Ardeth looked on.

TBC...


	9. Three Men, All in Pain

Ardeth couldn't stand Catlanda being treated that way as he stepped forward. He growled as he balled his hands in fists.

"Leave her alone!" he cried at him.

The man looked up at him and smiled before he climbed to his feet. He began to walk towards him, still carrying the dagger.

"So you want to take me on now? After the other two had failed? I seriously doubt you will stop me," the Time Traveller snarled at him.

Ardeth sighed as the two faced each other. The others in the group began to move towards them. Ardeth held out a hand.

"Stop! Let me take care of this. After all, it is my fight," the Medjai told them.

The group stopped, watching the two walk around in circles before the Traveller decided to strike first. Ardeth didn't have a chance as the man grabbed his arms and pulled them around a tree, tying them together on the other side. The Traveller also bound Ardeth's feet to the ground.

"Ardeth, no!" cried Rick as he moved torwards his friend

"Stay back O'Connell!" Ardeth yelled back

Hhe struggled against the binds and the American stopped. The Traveller turned to face Ardeth once again as he held the dagger up against the sunlight.

"You will die, along with the others," the Traveller told him with an evil smile.

He jammed the dagger into the Medjai's thigh and another was put into his shoulder. Ardeth winced greatly as he felt the pain now coursing from his leg and arm. He could feel the blood flowing down his leg and his shoulder as well. The Traveller quietly laughed as he drew closer to Ardeth.

"You will be begging me for death once I am done with all of you," he whispered to the Medjai.

"Never," whispered Ardeth.

"Fine then. If I cannot do anything with bringing her child into this world, then I will have to do something with you instead," he growled.

It was then that he kneed Ardeth hard in the groin and he gasped out in pain. He did it again and Ardeth gasped once more. The Traveller continued on with what he was doing before deciding to stop with the kneeing and instead punched and kicked Ardeth near his groin a few times. Ardeth was badly shuddering from the pain the daggers were causing him, as was the torture the Traveller was giving him at the moment.

It was then that Ardeth passed out from the pain, his eyes rolling back into his head and he hung limply from the tree. The Traveller laughed as he backed away from the Medjai and faced the rest of the group.

"They are finished! Without them, this planet will fall!" he cried as he punched Ardeth in the stomach one more time.

It was then that everybody couldn't stand it any longer. Alex, Jake and Rick pulled out their guns and shot at him. He fell to the ground once the bullets hit him as Cody, Monica and Evie hurried over to Ardeth. Catlanda managed to stand up with some help from Jackie and she hurried over to the group.

"Hold onto him while I get these out," Catlanda told them.

"Won't that hurt him even more?" asked a surprised Cody as he fumbled with the binds around Ardeth's legs and hands.

They were done quicker than he first thought. Especially since Michelle decided to come over and help him with the jackknife she carried with her.

"It has been done before without hurting the person. I have helped my father a few times before with his injuries. This will be no different," she replied

MIchelleslowly started to pull out the daggers. She grunted softly as she carefully pulled out the first one from his thigh. Then she began on the shoulder and carefully getting that one out. Monica and Evie slowly helped him to the ground. They looked to see the Time Traveller disappear into thin air.

"What happened to him?" wondered Evie.

"He left before anymore could happen. He saw that he was no longer in control and that he was outnumbered because of it," Catlanda replied. "He cannot be hurt by mortal means but he is not our priority at the moment. Frank and Ardeth are. They need help."

"We better take them by car for two reasons. First; the paramedics were get scared if they saw these two since they are identical to Nick; and secondly; we can't wait for an ambulance. They need help immediately and waiting could do them more harm than good," Letty told them.

The others nodded as they took the two up to the cars as quickly and carefully as they possibly could. They started off towards the hospital.

00000

Nick laid in the bed as Sarah and Patrick hovered next to him, staring at the IVs that were hooked up to him and at the obvious injuries that he suffered. Another one was set up to help him breath. She held his limp hand as she put her forehead on the back of it. Patrick put a hand on her shoulder, while trying to fight back the tears. Jules, Rae and Matt stood by the door. They all sighed.

"I hate to see him like this. I really do. This man is seriously injuring these three. He knows what he's doing," Rae sighed.

"He wants to kill these men. That's what he's doing Rae. They will die if they can't do anything to stop him and it looks like the Traveller will win. There is no way these guys can defeat him," Matt solemnly told her.

The two female doctors both sighed, knowing that he was probably right. It was then that they heard yelling come from near the elevator. The three ran over to see Ardeth and Frank being brought in by the others. Both were bleeding profusely as they were placed onto gurneys.

"What happened?" demanded Jules.

"We were attacked in the park. The Time Traveller. He threatened Michelle and Cat before Frank and Ardeth stepped in. They got all of the attacks," Rick replied, breathing heavily.

"Oh no. That means all three of them are hurt! What are we going to do?" wondered Jules as she looked at the people around her.

Rick couldn't believe what he was hearing. One man took out three men who were in healthy shape. He even took out two at one time!

"If three men cannot take out this guy, what hope do we have? This guy will win," Rick said as Evie walked over to him, her mouth slightly open.

Cody walked up them as did Alex, Monica and Jake. They all stood there, not believing the facts presented to them: Nick, Frank and Ardeth were all injured by one man. One man who was more powerful and stronger than the three of them combined.

"What are we going to do now? This battle is done, it's over. Those three are in no shape to fight or do anything! And we can't do anything about it!" Monica asked as the sadness and despair were creeping into her voice.

"I don't know Monica. All three were injured pretty badly. Michelle's with Frank right now and it looks like she won't be leaving his side. At least not for a long while," Jake told the group.

"Cat's in with Ardeth and I think it's going to be the same with her," Evie said with a sigh. "Ardeth has been her father ever since she was a baby and he's always taken care of her."

"Catlanda, Michelle, Sarah, Patrick. They all saw these men as their father figure, whether it be for a few years or their entire life. They're devestated, probably more than we will ever know or realize," Jake said to her. "But Monica is right. How can this guy be defeated when the three men who are supposed to stop him are out for the count?"

"You are forgetting the second part of it Jake," came a sad and quiet female voice.

The group looked over to see Catlanda, her eyes red and swollen. Jake looked at her with some confusion in his eyes.

"Jake Shaw, these three men were chosen for this once they took in children. Us. We have been told that the three will either defeat or be defeated," Catlanda told the group, sounding very tired. "And it looks like they are going to be defeated. The Time Traveller will win and the world as we know it will fall into darkness."

She slowly walked into the room.

"The Time Traveller is powerful, as you have seen and I do not know how to stop him," she said as she sat down.

She put a hand up to her face as Evie walked up to her.

"Cat, how's Ardeth?" she asked as she knelt by her.

"Not good. The daggers almost pierced some 'arteries' I've been told and he suffered much bruising in his groin area. Much worse than the time Marok and I were captured and he came after us," Catlanda quietly told her. " I fear something will happen to him again. He's suffered so much already because of me."

Harriet walked over to them and also knelt by the pregnant woman.

"Catlanda, would you mind coming with me? I would like to perform a test and take your time coming. I'm in no rush to do it," Harriet told her.

She nodded as she stayed sitting for a few moments more before standing up and following the woman out of the room.

00000

Harriet prepared Catlanda for the test after she laid down on the table. Catlanda remained calm as she watched the doctor. Harriet looked at a screen nearby and so did the Medjai. What she saw amazed her.

"What is that?" she asked Harriet.

"That is the baby Catlanda. I wanted to make sure your child was alright after what happened just recently," Harriet replied with a smile. "And I wanted to see if the baby was a healthy one."

"I hope Ardeth lives to see it born," sighed Catlanda.

Harriet said nothing as she continued to look at the child being shown on the screen.

00000

Sarah walked out of the room to almost run into Michelle. They both were surprised.

"Michelle, how's Frank doing?" asked Sarah.

"Not good. His 'sprained' wrist turns out to be badly broken and the dagger did a nasty job to him as well. How's Nick?" replied Michelle.

"He's not doing good either. He got hit with a bat. Cracked several ribs, two of which nearly punctured a lung. He also got hit with a tranquilizer dart. They haven't figured out why the guy did that yet. Maybe it was to scare us. If that was the plan, it succeeded. Very well," Sarah replied.

"If we only knew how to defeat this guy," Michelle said with a sigh.

Sarah nodded in agreement as they began to walk down the hallway. Patrick met up with the two female teenagers. Noone said a word as they stared at each other and sighed. Each knew what the other was thinking as they began to head down the hallway.

They passed the room where Catlanda was resting. She looked out and saw them go by. She stood up and went outside to meet up with them. They headed down the hall and walked up to the respective rooms of their fathers.

00000

Catlanda walked in to see Rick and Evie by Ardeth's side. Michelle was met by the rest of the team while Sarah and Patrick saw the rest of the doctors. They all stared at the children.

"Catlanda, what's wrong?" asked Evie, curiously.

"The time is coming where the fate of us all is decided. I can feel it and the Spire has told me that this feeling is true," she replied.

"That means we're probably all going to die," sighed Rick. "The three who are supposed to do this can't possibly do it."

"We have to wait and see," Evie said to him.

TBC...


	10. Expected Company

Evie and Rick looked at each other in amazement. They watched her before deciding to leave the two alone.

_'How could she know this?'_ they both thought at the same time.

Catlanda walked up to Ardeth and they went out the door. She took his hand and he opened his eyes slightly, staring at her.

"Catlanda," he barely managed to say. "Are you...hurt?"

"No, I am not. I escaped injury completely. How do you feel?" she replied.

"Could be better. I am unsure what I feel like at the moment," he quietly replied as he held out his good hand.

She took it as he moved his legs, groaning in pain.

"Shh. Don't move. You were injured pretty badly Dad," she told him with a quiet voice as she placed a comforting hand on his stomach.

Ardeth ceased moving and stared at the IV going into his arm. Water was dripping into the tube and he watched it go into his body.

"I feel so helpless and this...mission...seems impossible to accomplish. I have never been this close to defeat and death before except for the time myself and the other Medjai were fighting the Army of Anubis," he quietly told her.

"But the O'Connells defeated the Scorpion King and the army disappeared back into the sands. I can't say the same about this battle. The Time Traveller has already managed to take you and the other two men down. You are all injured. We are now fighting a losing battle and there is nothing else we can do. He will be back one more time to defeat you three, all of us, for good and he will come swiftly," Catlanda told him. "And I might be the first to go after you three are struck down since I am with child."

Ardeth nodded his head after he closed his eyes. He really hated what she told him. He fell back alseep.

00000

Nick opened his eyes slightly and saw Sarah and Patrick standing next to the bed. He gave a faint smile as he stared at them.

"Sarah, Patrick," he said, sounding a bit groggy.

"Don't try to talk. Many of your ribs are cracked," Patrick told him as he put a hand on his shoulder.

He half-wondered if Nick even understood him since he was pumped full of something. Nick soon closed his eyes and fell back asleep. The brother and sister wondered what was going to happen to him as they sat by his bedside, worried about the future.

Frank gasped awake, startled. His eyes looked around the room to see Michelle, in a chair next to the bed, half-asleep. She raised her head and looked at him with a wornout look on his face, something he never saw in her.

"Frank, you're awake. How're you doing?," she tiredly said as she rubbed her eyes.

"I'm fine. How are Nick and Ardeth doing?" he quietly asked her as she took his hand.

"Not good," she told him with a shake of her head. "Both were knocked unconscious and both have recaived some serious injuries. Nick was beaten with a bat and received a a tranquilizer dart as a present. Ardeth was beaten and stabbed. He got punched, kicked and kneed," Michelle told him.

Frank gave a small gasp as he tried to move his broken wrist over his eyes. Michelle knew he had a feeling of helplessness right now since he didn't have the situation under control. She knew that Frank was used to having a situation under control.

"Nobody knows what exactly is going to happen. They're already looking at the grim possibility that the world as we know it will be destroyed," Michelle sadly told him.

It almost appeared as if she were going to cry. Frank thought he could see the tears in her eyes.

"Come here," Frank told her in a calm voice, motioning her over to him.

She walked over to him and gave him a hug as best as she could. He put his broken arm around her as she did so. He could hear her crying into his shoulder and it broke his heart.

00000

The Guardian stood in front of the altar, looking at the portal in front of her. She gasped as she looked around frantically as an evil seemed to surround her. Jonathan and Alex were sitting in a nearby corner, watching her. Jonathan was obviously scared as he hung on Alex, who was scared himself.

"The Time Traveller. He's making his move soon. I cannot wait any longer. They have to go now," she said to herself as she raised her hand.

A flash of light went out across the land of Egypt.

00000

Harriet, Jules and Letty were quietly talking as they passed Ardeth's room. Jules glanced inside to see a pulsing light coming from inside. She stopped, causing the others to do as well.

"What's wrong Jules?" asked Letty.

She didn't asnwer as she quietly walked inside the room. Catlanda was sleeping soundly in the chair next to Ardeth when the walked into the room. The Spire hung loosely in her hand and the eyes were steadily making the light. Harriet placed a hand on Catlanda's shoulder and she awoke, a bit confused.

"Catlanda, what is going on with the Spire?" she asked, pointing at it.

They both looked at it and Catlanda gasped as she held onto it more firmly. She stared at it in disbelief.

"No, it can't be!" she protested. "It can't be this soon!"

"Yes, it is. He will soon be here and you need the others," was all the Spire had said.

Catlanda softly groaned as she placed her head in her hand. The three doctors were slightly surprised.

"What's wrong?" asked Letty.

"The others from my time are on their way here as we speak. They need to be brought here immediately," she said as she tried to stand up.

The doctors were a bit surprised with this before they leapt to her side and keep her sitting.

"Don't exert yourself now. Tell us and we'll go find them," Jules told her.

"But...not everyone can control the Spire, which you'll need to find them," Catlanda quietly protested.

It was then that Sarah passed by the room. She looked inside and saw them. Harriet glanced to see her and motioned her inside.

"Will you trust someone with long enough until we do find them?" wondered Harriet.

Catlanda sighed and nodded.

"I can do that," she quietly replied.

Harriet turned toward Sarah.

"We have a small problem that we need your help with. Others from their time are coming and we need to go find them. Would you like to help?" Harriet explained.

"What do I have to do?" replied the teenager.

00000

A figure found himself in the park. He looked up to the sky before standing up.

"What the heck happened?" he demanded.

It was then that he decided to look at his surroundings and he gasped.

"Where am I?" he asked as he looked at the lights among the city. "Even better, when?"

He began to move forward, wondering where he was.

00000

Sarah and Michelle were leading the way as a small group walked out of the hospital. With the two, were Jake, Alex, Patrick, Rick and Matt while the others stayed at the hospital.

"So where are we going again?" wondered Matt.

"People from the same time as Rick and the others are coming. We have to go find them. Catlanda would have come herself if it wasn't for her delicate condition," replied Sarah as they hurried on.

"Where do we start?" asked Alex.

"Spire, where are they?" Sarah asked and the eyes glowed.

A map appeared before them and four blinking lights appeared on it.

"Alright. We know where we have to go," Jake said as they began to move.

"Jake, I have a quicker idea. Spire, tranpsort us to these locations," Sarah said.

"It is done," the Spire said as its eyes glowed.

The next thing Jake knew, he was near the Golden Gate Bridge. He looked around to see noone was nearby. He readied his gun as he begn to walk around.

Out of nowhere, came a figure wearing black clothes. He was carrying a sword and yelling out in a language Jake didn't understand.

"What the...?" Jake started as he kept his gun ready.

The man stared at him as both he and Jake stood ready.

"I don't want to hurt you mister. I just have to find someone and I'm thinking it's you," Jake told him.

"Me? Why would you be looking for me?" replied the man.

"Because if you suddenly showed up here, then yeah, I am looking for you. I'm a friend of Ardeth and Catlanda," Jake said.

The man lowered his sword and walked over to Jake, who put his gun away.

"My name is Marok, brother to the second-in-command of Ardeth. Catlanda is my age and with child. Did she have the baby yet?" he asked.

"No, she didn't yet. I fear she could at anytime now," Jake replied as they walked away.

Alex and Matt found themselves at another part of town. They began to walk around, looking among the people, seeing if she could find who she was looking for.

"There are so many people here, who could it be?" she murmered to Matt before they stared across the street.

"I agree totally," he told her.

There, they saw two older woman wearing strangly familiar clothing. Several young men were silently walking up behind them. Alex decided to cross the road and apporach them. Matt followed her as she faced the men.

"Hey ladies, are you new in town?" one asked them, laughing.

The two looked at them before glancing at each other and talking in Arabic.

"Stop talking Greek here and answer us!" demanded another one of the men.

The group steadily walked towards the women as Alex stepped up.

"Hello boys. Can I help you tonight?" she asked them, crossing her arms.

"Who're you? A cop?" snickered one.

"In a sense, I am. Federal Agent," she replied as she showed them her badge.

"Ooh, we're scared. One Federal Agent against all of us," one laughed.

Out of nowhere, one of them was pinned to the wall. The man was surprised to see one of the older women had done it.

"Leave her alone or else be killed," she quietly told him.

He gulped before he carefully moved away from her.

"I think you'd better leave. Some of my friends are on their way here and they are not as nice as I am," Alex said with a smile.

The men all snickered but that was before the saw all the officers running up behind them. They turned and ran. Alex smiled as she turned around to see the men run right through them.

"Must be the Spire making those," she mused.

The women gasped as Matt walked onto the scene.

"The Spire? Where is it? Where is Catlanda?" one asked.

"We know where she is. Mind if I ask you your names?" Matt replied.

"I am Ayanna and this is Iscantil. We are Catlanda's grandmothers and I am Ardeth's mother," one replied.

Alex's eyes opened as she looked at Matt, who stared back.

"Come on. Let's go," Matt told them before they began to walk down the street.

00000

Rick and Patrick found themselves not far from the hospital. They walked around, looking for whoever was there.

"Who are we supposed to look for anyway?" asked Patrick.

"Could be any of six people that I can think of," replied Rick. "Well, there's Catty's grandmothers, Sharak, Marok, Jonathan and Alex."

"Another Alex? How does he know Catlanda?" wondered Patrick.

"He knows her through Evie and myself. He's our son and Jonathan is Evie's brother. Sharak is Ardeth's second and Marok is his brother and around Catty's age," Rick explained.

They walked around and corner and bumped into someone.

"Hey watch where you're going!" Rick cried.

"Watch where you're go...Rick?" came a familar voice.

"Jonathan?" Rick said.

"Dad!" came Alex's voice.

Rick felt two arms around him and he sighed as he hugged his son.

"Alex, I am so glad you're alright," Rick said.

Patrick and Jonathan shook hands.

"You must be Jonathan. Don't worry, explanations and introductons will be later," Patrick reassured him.

Jonathan nodded, trusting what the young man had to say.

00000

Sarah and Michelle walked around the park.

"Should we even be out here alone? Some guys might see us as easy targets," Sarah wondered.

"I'm not that easy to take down. I've practically lived on the streets for two years and I'm not one to mess around with," Michelle told her as they looked around.

"Maybe in Chicago they know not to mess with you but they don't here in San Fransisco," Sarah told her.

They suddenly something behind them. They stopped and turned around.

"What was that?" asked Sarah, sounding nervous.

"I don't know," replied Michelle.

A figure ran out at them, wielding a sword. Sarah instinctively held out the Spire and the eyes glowed.

"Sharak, stop! These teens are our friends!" it cried.

The man did so and stared at it, nodding.

"Sarah, I don't think he'll hurt us. Now I think we'd better get back to the hospital," Michelle said as she walked up to the Medjai.

"Hi Sharak, I'm Michelle, she's Sarah. Come with us and everything will be explained," she told him.

Monica sat by Frank's bed before he put a hand over his shoulder and gasped. Monica hurried over to his side.

"Frank, what's wrong?" she asked.

He gritted his teeth as he breathed deeply.

"Nothing," he replied as he placed his head back on the pillow.

"Yeah right. It must be the Time Traveller. He must be causing this. It's the only explanation and you're too proud to admit anything," Monica said with a sigh.

Nick was sleeping in a painful sleep as Rae stayed by his side, stroking his hair.

"Why does it have to be like this Nick? Just imagine, you see these two kids who have no idea where to go, you take them in and because you do, you will probably will die because of it," she said.

Suddenly, Nick was having some trouble breathing. His eyes opened wide in fear and he stared at her.

"Chest hurts," he managed to gasp.

Rae was surprised at this before going for some help.

Catlanda headed out into the hallway to be greeted by Cody. He headed towards her.

"Hey Cat, how're you doing?" he asked as a wince appeared on his face.

"I am fine. Are you doing well?" she replied. "I am worried about what is to happen. We have never had to worry about the Time Traveller and we are not sure how to stop him," Catlanda replied as a hand went to her stomach.

Cody put his good hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"I think when the time comes, we'll know what to do," he told her.

A smile apread across her face as Jules and Jackie came down the hall to greet them. But their greeting was interrupted when a groan came from Ardeth. Catlanda hurried inside as fast as she could to see that he was breathing heavily.

"Dad, what is wrong?" she asked him, sounding really scared.

"Shoulder hurts. So does leg and...and...," he replied as put a hand over his shoulder wound.

His daughter knew what he meant. Catlanda looked up at the window and turned around to see Ayanna standing at the door. She hurried over to her son in a state of shock. She held his hand.

"Everyone is here! The Traveller will be here soon for certain and kill us all!" Catlanda cried as her eyes widened.

TBC...


	11. Regained Hope, Found Dreams but Final Go...

Ayanna stayed by her son's side as he lay in the hospital bed. Iscantil knelt by Catlanda's side as she sat in a nearby chair.

"Are you alright? We were so worried about you. It looks like we have a lot of work to do," Iscantil said.

Ayanna sadly nodded as Jules looked on.

"He'll be fine," Jules told her.

"You do not understand the danger of the situation Jules. The Time Traveller will come very soon and we will all be dead unless a miracle happens now," Catlanda called over to her.

Ardeth moaned at that point and Ayanna held his hand. Catlanda stood up and walked over to him.

"I am here Ardeth," she told him.

He opened his eyes slightly and stared at her.

"Mother, you are here. The Time Traveller..." he started.

"Do not talk. He will be taken care of," Ayanna shushed him.

Ayanna glanced at the now crying Catlanda and silently left the room with Iscantil and motioned for Jules to follow them.

"Father, I don't want you to leave," she told him through tears.

Ardeth lifted a hand a wiped away the falling tears from her face.

"Do not cry just yet. I will see this child of yours born. I promise," he quietly told her.

"How can you make a promise that you might be unable to keep? I might not be able to give birth to this child if things turn out in the Time Traveller's way," she said.

She buried her face in the blankets next to him as he stroked her hair.

"I assure you Catlanda. This baby of yours will be born. I might not be there since the future is uncertain but you will live to see it through," Ardeth quietly told her.

00000

Frank sat upright in the bed as Michelle sat next to him. The other members of the team stood outside the door. He gave a small sigh as she gently held onto his hand.

"Michelle, after all this time we've been together, I've learned a lot from you," he quietly told her.

"As I from you. I don't want to be separated from you Frank. Not now, not ever. You and Alex and Jake and Monica and Cody, you five were the first ones who really gave two hoots about what I did. You all have inspired me. You most of all, even though you're the type to hide everything. Of course, I do that too. Meeting you five makes me want to become part of the law enforcement when I get older," Michelle told him with a smile, wiping away a tear. "Imagine that after my old occupation."

Frank gave a rare smile himself at that statement. He carefully took his hand from her grasp and ruffled her hair with it, causing her to giggle and swat at his hand.

"Mika, this war isn't over yet. We still have one more chance to defeat him. Don't say good-bye just yet," Frank told her.

She gave a smile that said 'I believe you'.

"Alright Frank. I'll just say so long then and hope for the best. Just come back alive, like what you always do," she told him.

Frank looked her with sadness in his eyes.

"I'll try," he told her. "You will live through this for I won't let anything happen to you. If I don't make it Mika, I'm sure one of the others in the team will take you in."

"I have no doubt in my mind that Cody will but it simply won't be the same without you," she quietly replied.

00000

Nick laid in the bed, still in pain from his injured ribs and still a bit drowsy from the tranquilizer dart. He stared at Patrick standing beside the bed, who smiled.

"How're you doing? You took quite a beating. No pun intended," Patrick said to him.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I? How's Sarah taking this?" he quietly asked.

"Not too good. The others from Ardeth's time are here. That is a sign all in itself. They say the Time Traveller is now on his way here right now. Sarah won't accept the fact that she might lose you. She said to me after you took us in what you did for her. I have to say thanks for standing up to Henry like that. No one ever did or probably ever will again," Patrick said with a smile.

"Patrick, when I first saw your sister sitting in that chair all those years ago, I saw a lost soul. Someone who didn't know where she belonged, who cried out for someone to care. So did you. I could tell right away," Nick told him. "I extended my hands and both of you took them."

Patrick looked at the floor as he scratched his head.

"I guess so. I should prepare for Sarah. I know she will be devestated," Patrick nodded.

Nick closed his eyes as he faced the ceiling and sighed. He knew what Patrick said would be true.

00000

Catlanda walked out of the room to be greeted by her grandmothers, an the two brothers. The younger brother hurried over to her.

"Are you alright? How is Ardeth?" he asked her.

"I am doing fine but Ardeth is not well. He was stabbed in his shoulder and leg," she replied.

Marok turned away for a moment as his brother walked up to them.

"Catlanda, we will help in any way we can," Sharak said.

"I know but that will not change the fact that Ardeth will die. I am certain of it," Catlanda replied, a lump in her throat.

"What?" the brothers said in unison.

"The next time the Traveller comes, he will kill Ardeth and the other two men who share the same fate as he does," Catlanda explained before they began to walk down the hall.

They met the doctors in an empty room. It was the early morning and the sun was peeking up over the horizon. They had just gotten there when Jake and the others walked up.

"So, how're they doing?" wondered Jules.

"It seems like they've accepted the fact that this might be the end. All they really want now is for the ones they've taken in to be safe and live through this, even if they don't," Monica said.

The others nodded in agreement before the Spire's eyes began to glow for a moment. Catlanda lifted it up and a figure appeared in the room. She looked around at everybody.

"I see everyone is here. You must be warned that the time is near for the Traveller to make his move. I also suppose you are wondering what your part in this is," the figure told them.

She recieved a barrage of stares before she decided to walk up to the Catlanda with a sad look.

"Keeper, these three have sacificed themselves time and time again for the safety of their children. All four of you. I know that you know what will happen to everyone, I need to talk about your friends," she quietly said as she turned around. "You are the ones the three men are most closest to. That is why you are here. I need not explain your current relationship to them to you unless you require me to."

When nobody stepped forward, she was not surprised.

"Without everyone here, there would have been several events that would have turned tragic but the did not with your help. Catlanda Bay, Sarah and Patrick Kokoris, Michelle Donovan, you all would not have fathers if it were not for the efforts of these people. They are here to help you with this quest and they will help you succeed if the Traveller is not stronger than all of you. I will help you when the time is here for they do not have their strength," the figure said before leaving.

They stared at the spot where she just stood before looking over at Catlanda, who was almost to tears again and hands covering her face.

"I am sorry, I have to go see Ardeth," she told them before she hurried out the door.

She never even realized that she left the Spire behind as she ran out. Rick picked it up and stared at it.

00000

She hurried as fast as she could into the room to see Ardeth had company. Frank was sitting next to him, fully dressed. She guessed he was well enough to get up and around.

"Catlanda, what is wrong?" asked Ardeth with worry and some pain in his voice as he managd to sit up in the bed.

"Ardeth," was all she said before she stepped backwards until she hit the wall.

Frank hurried over to her as she slid down until she landed on the floor. Her eyes were now closed and her body limp.

"Frank, how is she?" started Ardeth as he tried to move.

Frank felt for a pulse and finding one, he gazed over to Ardeth and nodded, who sighed. It was then that Rae and Harriet hurried to the door to see the scene. Harriet hurried over to her.

"She needs help right now. I fear is has to do with her unborn child and something needs to be done," she said to them as Matt hurried up to the door and up to her.

A hand grabbed Harriet's arm and she looked at the pregnant woman, whose eyes were large.

"Please, do not," she pleaded of them as Rae closed the door.

"Don't do what Catlanda?" wondered Matt as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"He is hurting me! Get him away!" she blindly cried out, arching her back.

The doctors were all confused until Ardeth moved around in the bed and Rae hurried over to him.

"What're you doing?" she asked him.

"Help me out of this bed. She needs me," Ardeth replied. "Trust me."

Rae nodded as she helped him out. He hobbled over to Catlanda and dropped by her side. He took her hand as Frank stood back.

"Catlanda, he is not here. He is dead and cannot hurt you. I will let not let anyone hurt you anymore," Ardeth told her.

"But, it hurts so much Daddy," she gasped as her legs automatically began to cross themselves.

Her blankless eyes closed and her body fell limp again. Ardeth sighed as he closed his own eyes. Harriet and Rae went for some help to get her onto a bed. Frank and Matt slowly helped Ardeth to his feet and over to the bed.

"Ardeth, what is wrong? Why did she act like that?" wondered Frank.

Ardeth sighed before looking at the two men standing next to him.

"I know she and I agreed not to talk about it but I believe it must be something that should be understood by at least someone," he replied.

He looked at the two and gave another sigh, sadness in his eyes.

"Nine months ago, Catlanda and I were taken prisoner. We were stripped and she was forced to have sex with our captor," Ardeth explained as he put a hand over his face.

"You mean...she was raped Ardeth?" Matt gasped as he and Frank gave each other quick, surprised glances.

Ardeth nodded at the response as he stared at them.

"Now because of it, she is afraid. Very afraid," Ardeth replied as he an a hand through his hair.

The day passed on slowly than any other for everybody. They were patiently waiting for any sign of the Time Traveller. Iscantil stayed by her granddaughter's side as Ayanna stayed by her son's side. Ardeth was continually telling her that he had to get up. She knew he had to rest but she also knew that he had to do battle with the man after him.

He slowly limped out of the room with the Spire that Rick had brought him soon after Catlanda had left the group.

Meanwhile, Nick was up around noon. He had a little trouble breathing but he learned to live with it as he walked down the halls. He had a hand to his chest as he headed down the hall towards the lobby.

"Sarah, Patrick," he whispered. "I must...you must stay alive."

Rae hurried up to him as he leaned against the wall.

"Are you alright Nick?" she asked him.

He nodded as he regained a standing position. Rae watched him head down the hallway only to meet the brother and sister. She heard them say he shouldn't be out, that he should be back in his room, getting better. She also heard Nick say that this was something he had to do and both protested. He reassured them that everything was going to be alright. Rae still heard the crying coming from the two.

"You can't go Frank!" Michelle protested as her balled up fists hit his chest.

Frank put his good arm around her as she began to cry and the others looked on.

"I have to Mika . If I don't, the whole world is gone. You will be gone and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever let anything harm you," Frank quietly told her.

Frank never saw Michelle like this before. Of course, she really never saw Frank in a life threatening position before now. He figured he never really saw her in one either.

"I will always be with you Mika, no matter what happens," he whispered to her.

He walked out of the room, past his teammates and soon met up with Nick and Ardeth in the lobby. Ardeth had the Spire.

"So this is it. This will probably be our last meeting. It has been nice knowing both of you," Nick told them.

They nodded in agreement as the Spire's eyes began to glow. Ardeth looked at it and sighed.

"He is coming," was all he said.

TBC...


	12. 'Death is Only the Beginning'

Author's Note - Warning! Warning! Warning! Character death! Character death! Character death! And in the TRIPLICATE!! You have been warned about it.

00000

Rick and Evie ran into the lobby to see the trio there. They were greeted by the doctors that Nick worked with and the other Federal Agents that Frank worked with as the other Medjai, Alex and Jonathan hurried up behind them.

"What the heck is going on here?" asked Jonathan as he stared at Ardeth.

"I'm scared Dad," Alex whined.

"I know Alex, so am I," Rick replied.

"I guess what is happening is that the final battle is coming," Evie said. "Imhotep was right."

Her family looked at her in disbelief.

"What did he ever say that could possibly be right at this moment?" demanded Rick.

Evie looked at each and every one of them.

"He said 'death is only the beginning.' He was right because that is what will happen to Ardeth and then to everybody else," she replied as she gazed over at her Medjai friend.

The three followed her gaze, not saying anything for they knew she was right with what she said.

00000

Jake looked at Cody, who appeared to be in some pain from his shoulder.

"Cody..." he started as he cautiously walked over to him.

Cody backed away and hit the wall, gasping out in pain as he held onto his painful shoulder. Alex and Monica also walked up to him.

"Cody, what's wrong?" asked Monica.

"Shoulder hurts really badly. Even more than when it first happened," he replied as a look of pain crossed his face.

He backed up against the wall and almost slid down it but was caught by Jake just in time.

"What the heck is going on here?" wondered Jake as they watched the three identical men standing in the lobby.

"I don't know Jake but whatever it is, it's happening now," replied Alex.

Cody cried out in pain again. They could tell that he was in a lot of it as he leaned a bit on Jake. Michelle was soon by his side.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

Cody stared at her before nodding.

"I'll be fine," he replied as the pain laced his voice. "I'll just have to wait until the pain passes."

00000

Rae stepped forward but Matt grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing? We have to stop him!" Rae protested, trying to break free from his grasp.

"But it's his fight. We can't decide what he does for himself. If he feels he needs to do this, let him," Matt replied.

Jackie walked up to her side and sighed.

"Ever since the beginning, ever since I saw Ardeth here in the hospital, all I wished that this would be was some big joke but I know it's not Rae. I have a better knowledge now, though it may not be much better, of when a joke is being played or not. This isn't one. Though I feel what happened last year was a one-time thing," Jackie told her.

She looked away from the group. Rae knew Jackie and Matt were right though she couldn't believe it that Nick was going to be a martyr and risk his own life for the rest of the planet.

The Time Traveller stepped into view of the three men and smiled.

"You know why I am here," he told the trio.

"You are here to destroy our planet," Nick started, stepping forward.

"To kill us and our children," Frank continued.

"Plus our grandchildren," Ardeth added. "We will not allow that!"

"But it will happen you see. I have seen the future. You will be destroyed and so will everyone so dear to you," the Traveller replied with a laugh. "Besides, none of you are in any shape to fight. You are all so weak. Actually, I think you were all weak before this moment anyway!"

The three men growled at the Traveller before a bright light filled the room and a figure appeared before the Time Traveller, Spire in hand. Ardeth saw this and looked at his hand, now realizing that it was gone. His stare returned to the woman.

"Traveller, you will not win this. I know you will not," she said.

"Guardian, so good to see you again. When was the last time we met?" he asked her.

"It matters not. What matters is right now. The three behind me will defeat you," she told him. "You will never win. These men have something you will never have."

"I will win since they are now helpless and please tell me what they have that I don't. I'm eager to know," The Traveller asked of her.

"I will never tell you," came the reply as a light emitted from the eyes of the Spire and engulfed the people standing in the lobby.

Ardeth found himself surrounded by green. He gazed over it to see he was in the park and the other two men were with him as were Michelle, Sarah and Patrick. The others were there as well but were far enough away from them, having been put there by the Guardian. They knew that this wasn't their fight. Ardeth saw that Catlanda was nowhere to be seen. He expected as such since she was still in a delicate condition.

The small group watched as the Guardian appeared before them as did the Time Traveller. The two stared at each other, the hatred obvious between them that must have simmered for centuries.

"Traveller, you will perish this day," she said.

"No, I will not. They will perish. Now get out of my way!" he demanded.

"I have to Traveller. This is not my fight. It is theirs," she replied before disappearing into thin air.

Now the fight was on. The kids scrambled to get out of the way as the three men took stances as they surrounded the man. The man in the circle simply laughed.

"You think you can defeat me? I have defeated all three of you twice already! What makes you think you can do it now? All of you are in weaker states," the Traveller asked them with a snicker in his voice.

"We have the faith in ourselves and our children. That's all we need right now," Nick replied.

The group watched as the four just stood right where they were, unmoving. All of a sudden, the Traveller made the first move, heading for Frank, who held out his gun. He shot at the man advancing towards him but the bullets deflected off him. The Traveller laughed as he reached out for him and grabbed the gun, jerking it from his hands. Frank's eyes widened in surprise as he began to back away from the man.

"This can't be happening," he quietly said to himself as Nick and Ardeth moved in to help him.

Ardeth lifted his sword to attack the man but the Traveller spun around and hit the Medjai on his arm. Ardeth gasped in pain as he held onto his arm. Nick tried to punch the man but connected with the man's hand instead. Nick was surprised to see the man had blocked the punch.

_'This guy has really fast reflexes as well as a body that must be made from steel,'_ Nick thought to himself.

He then felt himself being thrown to the ground. He grunted as the impact drove the air out of his lungs and caused pain to shoot through him, his ribs beginning to ache even more now. He watched as the Traveller turned his attention to Ardeth again.

Ardeth slowly limped away from the man until the Traveller grabbed him by the throat and began strangling him. Ardeth gasped for air as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Frank saw this and charged the man only to meet a solid form stopping him. He fell to the ground in pain. The three children couldn't help but watch the scene. Michelle and Sarah were on the verge of screaming out for them.

"What do we do? The man's killing them! We just can't sit back and let him do this!" cried Michelle.

"I agree. Let's go!" agreed Sarah as the three ran for the man.

They jumped over the man, allowing Ardeth to wriggle free from the man's grasp. He slowly backed away, a hand at his throat and gasping for air. Frank and Nick both climbed to their feet and saw what the three were doing.

"Mika, get away from him!" Frank cried out.

His team were surprised at the reaction for it sounded unlike the Frank Donovan they knew. The cry sounded desperate. Of course, there was never really a time where both of them were truly fighting for their lives. They continued to watch as Frank ran up to her and pulled her away from the man after she climbed off.

At that moment, Sarah and Patrick decided to get away from the dangerous man and hurried over to Nick. The surgeon leaned against Patrick as they slowly walked away from the Time Traveller, who appeared to be very angry.

"You will all pay for this. Your world will be dead, a barren wasteland that will be put to my use," the Traveller sneered at them. "You will all die!"

Michelle stood in front of Frank as the Traveller headed towards him again. Frank put a hand on her shoulder, his way of protesting against this act. Michelle knew what this meant but stayed right where she was standing, arms out to her sides.

"And I'll start with you!" the Traveller screamed as a knife appeared in his hand.

He aimed the knife right for Michelle's heart but at the last moment and began to thrust it at her, Frank quickly put an arm around her and shifted their positions. Now the knife went into Frank's back as he shielded her from the attack. He cried out in pain as the the sank to the ground and she went with him. Michelle's eyes now brimmed with tears as she stared at the blood stain now appearing on Frank's clothes. She pulled up his shirt to see the wound bleeding profusely amongst the scars from the blast a few years earlier. She placed her arms around him.

"You bastard," Michelle cursed at the man who attacked them, the tears now falling down her face.

"Oh I'm sorry, did I do that?" the Traveller said in a mocking tone before laughing. "You will soon feel the blade in your skin as well so be prepared."

His attention was now focused towards Nick, who was still leaning against Patrick. Sarah was on the other side of him and she looked like a determined teenager to protect the man.

"Nice to see you again. Too bad this will be the last time we meet. You will die today," snarled the man.

He managed to reach out and grab Sarah by her arm. He jerked her forward and away from Nick. She cried out in pain as she hit the ground hard. She lifted herself up slightly before falling back down, unconscious.

"Sarah!" cried Nick as Patrick took a step forward in front of him.

"Get out of my way!" growled the Traveller.

"Never!" Patrick yelled back at him.

"Patrick..." started Nick as he reached out for the younger man.

Before anything else could be said, Patrick was pushed to the ground and Nick felt pain in his abdomen area. He looked down to see knife sticking out of his stomach. He fell to his knees as he began to lose consciousness. Everyone gasped as they looked on, watching as Nick lay on the ground.

"No!" Patrick yelled as he hurried up to Nick.

"Pat, taking you and your sister in was the best thing I've ever done. I'll never regret it," Nick whispered to him

He felt his blood beginning to pool beneath him.Tears began to fall down Patrick's face as the Traveller now turned his attention to Ardeth. The man put his hands around the Medjai's throat and held him against the tree.

"You are the last one to deal with only with you, your daughter isn't here. You are going to die alone," the Traveller whispered to him.

"My daughter... will always be with me and so will... her child as I will always be with her," Ardeth managed to say. "She has always been my top priority."

The Traveller snickered as he began to choke him even tighter. Ardeth tried to break free from his grasp but it proved useless as he began to see stars before him. He fell limp in the man's arms and the Traveller let him drop to the ground. The man knelt by the Medjai and pulled out a large jewel from one of the pockets.

"Ah, half of the jewel of Ramses II. He had his chance and he failed. I find that this is an interesting gift indeed. I wonder if I do anything to it, if anything will happen," he mused as he gripped tightened around it.

He crushed it into small pieces and laughed while he did so. At that very moment, Catlanda began to breath heavily in her hospital bed. She had a hand on her stomach. Pain began to engulf all her senses.

"The jewel," she whispered. "Father, the jewel is broken."

It was all she said before she succumbed to darkness.

The Traveller climbed to his feet, the shards of the jewel at his feet and sitting next to Ardeth. He gazed down at Ardeth before turning to look at the unconscious forms of Nick and Frank. Their children were by their sides, their friends unable to get to them.

"They can't dead!" he heard Rae cry.

"But it looks like they just might be," Matt said to her.

"Yes, they are soon dead and all because they took in orphans, delinquents or runaways," the Traveller sneered.

Patrick and Michelle watched as he lifted a gun and shot the two men laying next to them. The tears began to fall even faster as they knew then that Frank and Nick were truly dead now. The Traveller aimed it at Ardeth and also shot him, ensuring his death as well.

TBC...


	13. Destiny Hurts

The group of Federal Agents, doctors and people from the 1930's gasped at the sight before them. They couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. Nick, Ardeth, Frank, were all dead, killed before their very eyes. The Time Traveller now towered over Michelle, who never noticed the man standing over her. She had her head buried in the clothes of Frank's lifeless body and was crying her heart out.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do that?' the Traveller said with mocking sadness.

Then it turned to evil laughter before he decided to kick her. She was forced off of Frank and she cringed in pain through the tears. She looked up at the man.

"You killed him!" she yelled at him.

"Why of course I did. That's a such a sad thought. At least for you, it is. I'm glad they're out of the way. They were threatening my very existence by living," the Traveller snickered

He now aimed the gun at Michelle. Her eyes widened just before he pulled the triggor. She managed to move out of the way in time and unsteadily climbed to her feet.

"You will pay for that. No one attacks my father and gets away with it," she snarled at him.

"Yes, I will. I always get away with the things I do and I always will from now since these three are dead. I am longer threatened," the Traveller replied as he walked towards her.

Before he could get any farther, he felt something hit his back. He turned to see Patrick throwing rocks at him as was Sarah.

"Leave her alone! Leave all of us alone!" Patrick yelled at him.

The Traveller growled as he blocked the attacks coming at him before staring at the group, who was obviously angry by the looks on their faces.

"Why are you doing this?" demanded Cody.

"Why do you think I'm doing this? So I can live! You do realize that you are going to be next after these children here? They are just as bad as the men who took them in. They will die right now!" the Traveller yelled as he lifted his fist and punched Michelle right in the stomach.

She had the air taken out of her and she gasped for it as she fell to her knees. She watched as the man walked over to Patrick and Sarah. He pulled out guns and shot them once each. They fell to the ground in pain. Sarah clutched her thigh as her brother held onto his knee. The three stared at the man as he lifted up the same baseball bat he attacked Nick earlier with.

"Who cares what you want? I'm in charge of your destiny now. Too bad you're going to have a little accident," the Traveller sneered.

Michelle's eye widened when she heard this before anger engulfed her senses. She managed to climb to her feet and started to move. She ran into him and knocked him from his position. He growled as he climbed to his feet and towered over the three of them.

"That was making my job really easy. Now all I have to do is take you down all in one shot," he growled at them as he lifted the bat again over his head.

"No!" cried the group, who felt helpless as they were unable to do anything.

They watched as the man swung the bat at the three, hoping to hit at least one of them. The three scrambled but Patrick didn't get out of the way in time and felt the bat connecting with his shoulder. But he also felt no pain. He was confused as he moved it, as he still felt no pain of any kind.

"What the heck...?" he started. "Why don't I feel any pain?"

"What?" roared the Traveller. "Why is this happening? You should be dead right now!"

The answer was to come by the Guardian, who appeared not too far away from the group. She had the Spire in hand.

"Traveller, you cannot hurt them because not all of them are here. Catlanda Bay, the Keeper of the Spire and protector of the jewel of Ramses, is not here," the Guardian said. "You cannot hurt the children until they are all here."

The Traveller was very upset now. If one could watch long enough, they could almost see the smoke rising from his nostrils and ears.

"How dare that I am denied my true conquest of this planet!" he yelled as he threw up his arms.

Cody banged on the invisible barrier with his good hand until he hit nothing. He was surprised as he decided to take a step forward and nothing stopped him. He gazed over at the group.

"I think something's going on," he told the others as he moved forward.

"And this was nothing so far?" wondered Matt.

Cody shook his head as the group moved forward. The Traveller was distracted by the Guardian as they made their way towards the three men.

Rae hurried up to Nick's side and checked for a pulse. Finding none, she sighed as she gazed up at her colleagues.

"He's dead. Those two have to be as well," sighed Rae as Sarah crawled over to them. "I can't believe it. He came here, took in two teens and he's dead because of it."

The tears were falling down Sarah's face as Letty put her arms around her, comforting her. Patrick had made his way over to them and was now sitting next to his sister. He put a hand over his eyes.

"Why does it have to be like this?" he whispered. "Why?"

Cody put his good arm around Michelle's shoulders as she cried. She leaned into him, seeking a shoulder to cry on.

"It'll be alright," Cody whispered as the others went over to Frank's body.

"No it won't be Cody. Frank's gone and I have nowhere else to go. I might be on the streets again. He's the only one who really cared," she told him through the tears. "Not that you or the others didn't."

Cody didn't say anything for he didn't know what to say. The others didn't know what to say either.

Ayanna hurried over to her son's lifeless body and held the cold hand.

"I am glad Catlanda was not here to witness that. She did not need to see you die," she said as Iscantil knelt beside them.

"She will be very upset when she finds out," Iscantil added.

The woman nodded in agreement.

"It has to be this way. We both know that," Sharak told his brother.

"I know. Cat will be so heartbroken," agreed Marok.

00000

A doctor walked into Catlanda's room to see she was not moving. She hurried up to the bedside and checked the pregnant woman's vitals to find them slow.

"Oh great. Someone get in here!" the doctor called out the door.

But before anything could happen, the arm beneath her hand began to disappear. She was confused as she watched the body before her disappear.

"What the heck just happened?" she asked himself as a couple of nurses hurried into the room.

They stared at the now empty bed.

"Must be seeing things or something," she muttered to herself.

00000

Michelle was still crying into Cody's good shoulder as he put his arm around her. He was trying his best to comfort the teenager as the rest of the team stood silently nearby. They couldn't believe what had happened either but they weren't taking it as hard as she was.

"Why does this have to happen Cody?" she whispered.

"I don't know Shelly. I really don't know," he quietly replied.

Suddenly, a bright light filled the sky. Everyone there looked up to see that Catlanda was now hovering beside the Guardian. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to look around at the scene. Her gaze soon came to Ardeth and a sad look appeared on her face as her hands flew up to her mouth.

"Yes, he is dead," the Guardian told her as she allowed Catlanda to go to his side.

She cried as Iscantil held onto her. It was then that the woman noticed that her granddaughter no longer had a bulging stomach.

"Where is the child?" she demanded as she stared at Catlanda.

Catlanda looked down to see what she was talking about before staring up at the Guardian.

"The child is with the Guardian. Something is going to happen with me and the baby has to be out of the way. She knows what she is doing," she replied as she stood up.

She walked over to the Traveller, who was snickering at the easy victory that was placed right into his lap.

"You will die here and now," he yelled at them.

Michelle and Patrick managed to climb to their feet and join the female Medjai where she was standing. Sarah leaned against her brother as they did so.

"We will not let you," Michelle said. "Frank will call me by the nickname he gave me again."

"And we will follow those dreams inspired by Nick," Patrick agreed.

"And finish what we all started," Sarah put in.

"Ardeth will live to see his grandchild," Catlanda finished as she stepped forward.

The Traveller sneered at this and moved towards them but before he could get anywhere near them, his eyes were blinded by a bright light.

"You cannot win. You will die Traveller for there is a way to defeat you," Catlanda told him.

"Really? Tell me how?" the Traveller demanded as he headed towards her.

The Guardian lifted up the Spire and the bodies of the three fallen men began to glow.

"You don't understand Time Traveller, there is something about these men that you don't understand. Something that connects them to the ones they have taken in," the Guardian said as the Spire's eyes continued to glow.

The four began to feel the light as it engulfed them.

"Spire, you know what you have to do," the Guardian said, the eyes glowing.

"It is done," the Spire replied as the light spread to engulf the rest of the group.

None of them had time to react as it did so.

TBC...


	14. The Final Temptation

Cody found himself behind the floating form of Frank. Michelle was beside him. He looked around to see the other two men in the same manner: floating in the air, their children beside them and their friends behind them.

"What does this mean?" he wondered as Jake walked up beside him.

"I don't know Cody," he said to him.

Cody continued to watch until he felt a massive pain in his shoulder. He threatened to drop to the ground until Jake, Monica and Alex caught him before did so.

"What the heck is going on?" asked Alex as the three helped him to the ground.

She watched as Cody gasped for air as he held onto his injured shoulder. She glanced over at the doctors, who stayed near their friend's body.

"I wish I knew. Suppose everyone else is thinking the same thing," Monica replied.

They watched as the bodies of their friend and boss Frank, the surgeon Nick and the Medjai Ardeth, as they hovered in the sky. The Time Traveller appeared to be very scared at this turn of events.

"What is going on here?" he demanded. "Why is this happening?"

"There is the way that you can finally be defeated, even if the men are already dead," the Guardian replied as the Spire glowed even more.

Catlanda felt some pain in her stomach and she clutched it. She wanted to curl up into a ball but she couldn't.

"Daddy, my baby. My child..." she started. "I want you to see my child after they are born."

Michelle hovered behind Frank and she slightly opened her eyes.

"Frank, please call me Mika again," she whispered.

Sarah and Patrick didn't know what to say.

"Nick, I want to be able to annoy Jackie with you again," she whispered, a small smile on her face.

"And I want be able to speak Greek to you again," Patrick quietly put in.

The three identical men were placed in a triangle around the Traveller as their children were behind them.

"What is happening?" the Traveller demanded.

"What is happening, Traveller, is that the bond between these people is stronger than what you first realized, even after death. These people will always have that special bond with them, no matter what you do to them or what happens in their future. It's this special bond that will ultimately put you to death," the Guardian replied.

The Spire shifted its place from the Guardian's hand to Catlanda's. She lifted it up into the air and a light emitted from it.

"You may have destroyed part of the jewel but you have not destroyed the power within this," Catlanda said. "Spire, do what you have to do."

The eyes glowed even brighter and the children stepped forward, preventing the Traveller from going anywhere.

"Maybe they can't stop you, but maybe we can," Catlanda said as she led the group.

"We will not let their names be taken lightly," added Michelle.

"They will be known for the things they've done," Patrick agreed.

"They are our family," Sarah finished as the four stood around him.

Catlanda held the Spire out to him. He saw her and stared at it, his eyes wide open.

"You want it? Go ahead, take it," she told him as it now limply sat in her hand.

He reached for it but Catlanda suddenly dropped it to the ground and all time seemed to slow down, nearly stopping, as a bright light emitted from it. The entire group there stood still, memories flooding through their minds.

The doctors all thought about their time around Nick: all their conversations and doings with the man, the problem with Patrick's and Sarah's parents, the practical joke from the year before on Jackie, along with all the other interaction they had with the man and the brother and sister.

"He is a good man," whispered Matt.

"He has taken care of those two well," Rae quietly said. "Always has."

"A great friend," added Letty.

"They all care for each other," Harriet put in.

"The three of them look out for each other," Jules whispered.

"We have to help him when he needs it most," Jackie almost cried out.

The memories of the four Federal Agents immediately went back to Death Alley: the place where they first met the teenager once known as the 'Silent Stalker'. They thought of all that Frank did for her, even after what she had done to him. The memories of her skills and her relationship to Frank came to mind. The similarities of the two different cultured people.

"They will always be simliar in the way that they are in their personality. Michelle Hana has always been a female Frank Donovan, always will be, no matter how much she's changed since the first time we met her," whispered Monica.

"Stubborn to the very end," Cody also whispered, not noticing the pain in shoulder anymore.

"We all were wrong about her at first but we realized we were wrong," Jake quietly said.

"We will not give up on them as Frank has never given up on her," Alex suddenly said, staring coldly at the Traveller.

Tears fell down Ayanna's face as she remembered when Ardeth held the young child in his arms for the first time after his best friends died. The same thing was occuring with Iscantil. They, along with the two brothers, remembered all the rejection and suffering the two had endured over the years from various members of the tribe.

"They have shown the others time and again that they are family, that Ardeth is willing to sacrifice everything for her safety. This is unacceptable!" Ayanna said, the anger growing in her voice.

"Their relationship is something that should be understood, not rejected," Sharak growled.

"By everybody," agreed Marok.

Rick, Evie, Alex and Jonathan thought about all the trips they made to Egypt. About all the times that someone had been resurrected, whether it be Imhotep, the Scorpion King or Ramses. Their reaction when they found out that Calanda was closer to Ardeth than what they first knew. That she was his daughter.

"I never thought it would be possible the Ardeth could be a father, but I see it is now," Rick muttered.

"She is understanding and she has experience on her side," Alex said.

"They have shown us places and objects we never thought were possible," Jonathan added.

"They will always be family in our eyes," Evie quietly said. "They need our help when they need it, which is now, after all the times they've helped us."

The Spire heard what it was looking for. Hope. The light grew brighter and the Traveller began to scream, putting his hands to his head.

To the group, as they watched ever carefully, it almost seemed as if the three men were moving again, breathing. They watched as the three men moved with smooth motions.

"What is going on here? The three of you should be dead!" the Traveller cried as he stared the three men moving about.

"You cannot get rid of us that easily," Ardeth replied in a ghostly voice.

"We will defeat you, even if we are destined to die," Nick put in, his eyes not appearing to be alive.

"There is no way we will let you harm the ones we love the most," Frank said as they closed in on the man.

"No! This can't be! You should all be dead! I have to defeat you! I have defeated you!" screamed the Time Traveller.

The three men moved in between the chidren. Ardeth glanced over at Catlanda before he went to the Guardian.

"She has the baby. When you finally have the child back, I know you will be a great mother," Ardeth whispered to her.

Catlanda didn't say a thing as she lowered her head. She stared at him, the tears in her eyes.

"Believe in yourself for you can do great things," Frank suddenly said.

"And don't let anyone tell you to do anything that you don't want to," Nick added.

The three held out a hand towards the Time Traveller. In Ardeth's hand, appeared the Spire from the ground.

"There's only one way to defeat you," Ardeth told him. "Frank, Nick, grasp onto the Spire."

Frank and Nick did so and it was aimed at the Time Traveller. He screamed out in pain as the light from the Spire hit him. He tried to move back but was blocked by both Patrick and Michelle, who stared him down.

"This can't be happening! I thought I had this all covered! I had it all planned out!" the Time Traveller cried out as he fell to the ground, the light continuing to hit him.

His eyes slowly closed as he lay there, almost motionless.

"Looks like you have won after all Guardian," he quietly said to the woman watching him with narrowed eyes.

"Looks like I did after all," was all she said before he closed his eyes for good.

The magnificient light show stopped and the Spire returned to Catlanda's possession. The group behind her snapped out of their trance. They stared at the the small group before them. It was then that the three men fell back to the ground and Catlanda backed up into a tree, a hand on her once again bulging stomach. Michelle hurried over to her as Sarah and Patrick hurried up the men. Both checked for pulses and sighed.

"They're still dead. Looks like what was said came true on both accounts: they were able to defeat but were also defeated. We'll have to live without them again," Patrick sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I suppose everyone thought it was going to be one or the other, not both."

The Guardan walked up to the sad group of four.

"Do not fear. They have given their lives for your safety. They have sacrificed everything so that you can live. Be happy for the time you have with them. They will never be out of your memories or your lives," the Guardian told them gently.

"They may be gone but we have to move on," Patrick said as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"It will a long time before we get over this thought," Michelle told him as a few tears fell down her face.

Their friends walked over to them. Catlanda leaned on the Spire as Rick and Marok stood beside her in case she needed help. She was shivering until her body decided to collapse. Rick and Marok eased her down to the ground.

"I don't think she could handle it," Rick mused.

"Rick, she just lost the most important person in her life. How would you feel if that happened to you?" wondered Marok.

Rick faltered as he looked at the Medjai.

"I did but she came back to life," Rick replied. "I don't expect it to happen this time."

Sarah had her arms around Jackie, crying into her shoulder.

"I can't believe he's dead," whimpered Sarah.

"I know," Jackie quietly replied.

Michelle hurried over to Cody, who was still gasping for air. He clutched his shoulder as she stumbled over to him.

"Cody, how's the shoulder?" she asked him.

"Fine. Could be better. I just want to know why it hurt so much now," he replied as he looked at her.

He gave a sad smile as he watched the tears fall down her face.

"I wish there was something we could do for you. I know this is hard for you," he whispered to her.

"You know there's not much that you can me with now. Frank's gone," she replied. "Now be still and wait until the pain as passed."

The Guardian walked up to the group.

"Everyone, please listen to me for a moment. Keeper, you and the others must go back to 1939. With the Time Traveller defeated, time travel will be soon almost impossible to do, even with the Spire so you must go back before you are unable to do so," the Guardian explained to them. "You have 24 hours to go back but I recommend doing soon so you are not stuck here permanantly because of something that happens."

Catlanda cried at the statement for she knew the woman was right. She stood with up with the help from Rick and Marok. She walked over to Ardeth's lifeless body and stood over it.

"Good-bye everyone. Maybe we will see each other after this," she said as the others walked over to her.

"Yeah, see you later," agreed Rick as he waved.

"Maybe we'll see each other," Alex said.

Michelle smiled as she thought of something she saw on television as she stared at Frank's body before walking over to it.

"Good-bye Frank. You are in my heart always. On behalf on my life, you are free again. Perhaps we'll meet again," she whispered into his ear.

The Spire was lifted over Catlanda's head and she prepared to speak aloud the incantation to send them home when the Guardian stopped her.

"What's wrong?" wondered Rae as she stepped forward.

"I want to tell you all something. You all have been given a gift. A gift in return for stopping the Time Traveller," she said.

"But how can we get it? Ardeth, Frank and Nick did all the work," wondered Letty.

The Guardian shook her head as a small smile appeared on her face.

"But you helped them do it," the Guardian replied before disappearing into thin air.

After a few tense moments, Jake looked around to see nothing happened.

"What the heck...?" he started as everyone began to look around at what the Guardian was talking about. "Nothing happened!"

Michelle was still beside Frank's lifeless body as Patrick knelt next to Nick. Michelle wasn't paying attention to them as she gently combed her fingers through Frank's hair. That all changed when she heard a small gasp for air...

TBC...

Author's Note-I know I hate 'em but I still do 'em. Evil cliffies. Duh duh duuuuuh! *gives innocent smile*


	15. They Rise Again

Michelle watched and listened as the gasp came again. Her eyes opened wide and she quickly reacted to Frank's back suddenly arching up. She put her hands on his arms to keep him down as his chest heaved heavily for air.

"F...Frank?" she asked him as she stared at his face.

He slightly opened his eyes and smiled as he stared at her. An arm slowly reached up to her face to wipe away some of the tears falling down it.

"Don't cry Mika. I'm here," he whispered as he cupped her cheek. "I'm here."

She put her hands on his hand and began to cry even more.

"Frank," was all she managed to say before breaking down and tried to put her arms around him.

She felt his arms around her body in an embrace and Frank put his face into her long hair. Jake thought he saw Frank crying into the black hair in front of him as did the rest of the team. It was a sight that they never thought would be possible and they knew they probably would never see it again.

"Frank, I thought I lost you," Michelle told him through the tears.

"You did there for a short time," he quietly told her. "Now I have to ask you to let me go. I still hurt quite a bit."

Michelle's grip lessened and Frank lowered himself back down to the ground. He closed his eyes again, this time in sleep. Michelle looked at Jake and the others.

"I don't believe that he's actually alive," Michelle told them.

"We know Michelle, we know," Alex said with a smile.

Sarah was next to Nick when he did the same thing. His back arched and Matt held onto one arm as Patrick held onto the other.

"Nick?" Sarah said with tears in her eyes.

She couldn't believe it and neither could Patrick.

"Yes, it is me," he quietly said as he raised a hand.

Sarah took it as Patrick put a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Good to have you back," Patrick quietly said.

"This is impossible! You...you were dead!!' gasped Letty.

Nick smiled at the comment and slowly shook his head.

"But I am not dead. Not anymore that is. I am here and I'm here to stay for a long time to come," he told them with a quiet voice.

"We should get you and the others to the hospital to get checked out again and I don't think we should tell the others what happened. They'll think we'll be crazy," Rae told Nick as she walked up to him.

Nick smiled at the comment as Matt and Patrick helped him to his feet.

Rick's eyes widened as he watched Ardeth open his eyes and take a deep breath.

"Ardeth," was all he said.

Ayanna knelt beside her son's body and put a hand on his arm.

"You are alright. Your daughter will be happy," she told him with a smile.

Ardeth gave a smile but it soon turned to worry.

"Where is she?" he asked. "How is she?"

Ayanna glanced at Iscantil, who stood by Catlanda's side.

"She is fine but tired," replied Iscantil.

Ardeth heard this and was happy. He turned his head away from her, closed his eyes and gave a relieved sigh.

"We must leave now," came Catlanda's quiet voice.

"That we must do. Come on Ardeth, we'll help you," Rick told the Medjai.

Both he and Sharak helped him to his feet as Marok and Jonathan helped Catlanda to her feet. The three helped the two to each other and they embraced each other.

"It has been nice knowing all of you and thank you for all that you have done to help us and the rest of the world," Catlanda told them.

Matt, Jules and Harriet all waved good-bye. Nick and Frank were both helped to their feet and they walked over to Ardeth and Catlanda, as did Sarah, Patrick and Michelle.

"It's been nice knowing you. Maybe we will meet again soon," Frank said.

The three smiled at each other but all that turned to horror as they saw Catlanda collapsing onto the ground. Ardeth hurried as fast as he could over to her.

"Catlanda!" he gasped.

Ayanna hurried over to them and also knelt by the pregnant woman.

"What is wrong with her?" she asked, sounding desperate.

"Maybe it has to do with the child," suggested Harriet as she hurried over to them.

The Guardian appeared before them.

"It is the child. Its time is very near. Ardeth Bay, I have to tell you something," the Guardian replied.

Ardeth nodded as he stared the woman now kneeling beside him.

"Ardeth, you know the Spire does not normally deal with health issues but when it come with births, especially one dealing with the Keeper, then it makes an exception," the Guardian whispered to him.

He nodded as she stood up.

"I have one more thing to tell you once all of you arrive at the hospital," the Guardian told them

She disappeared into thin air as the group prepared themselves for the trip to the hosptital.

"I don't believe it! This can't be possible!" Matt cried.

"I know. It's a miracle," agreed Rae.

Letty and Jackie nodded in agreement. They were all shocked at the men sitting quietly on the tables.

"They should still be dead. If not, at least severely injured. They're almost all healed! Nick, how're you feeling?" asked Matt.

"Tired. A little sore as well but alive just the same," he quietly replied.

"What about you two?" Letty asked Ardeth and Frank.

"Sore and tired. I am glad that things turned out like this," agreed Ardeth as he gave a small nod of the head.

Frank sighed and looked away from the group. Nick looked over at him as Michelle, Sarah and Patrick were allowed inside the room. Michelle sat on the bed next to him. She overheard the end of the conversation and was a bit upset by Frank's lack of reaction.

"Frank, just this one time, please. You don't have to hide your feelings this time. You can let others know how you feel," she whispered to him.

To Frank, it sounded like she was almost pleading. He gave her a small smile and sighed before putting his hand on her arm.

"Alright. I'm glad to be alive. My arm is still very sore but I'll live," he quietly said.

Michelle gave a smile herself as she gave him a hug. It was then that Jules walked into the room and up to Ardeth, who immediately became worried.

"What is wrong with Cat?" he demanded of her as he raised himself to a sitting position.

But Jules motioned that he remain in his original position and he did so.

"She's alright though I believe what happened took a lot out of her. Seeing you dead then be resurrected is something that would cause anyone to pass out," Jules told him.

"Now what do we do?" wondered Letty.

No one answered her, none knowing what to say before Jules left the room and headed back down the hall. Jules walked into the room and saw Harriet standing by Catlanda's side, looking over the sleeping woman.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" wondered Jules.

"I believe so. After seeing what happened with those three, I think anyone would have done what she did," Harriet replied.

Catlanda gasped at that moment and opened her eyes. She stared at the two doctors.

"Ardeth..." she started as she began to rise.

"Whoa, Cat. Ardeth's fine. He's alive. Ardeth is alive," Jules told her as she and Harriet gently put their hands on the Medjai's arms.

Catlanda instinctively lowered herself back onto the bed and tears filled her eyes.

"He is alive! He will see my baby born after all!" she softly cried, closing her eyes.

"Yes, he is," whispered Harriet.

Frank walked out of the room to be greeted by his team. He looked over them to see that they were all smiling at him.

"Welcome back Frank," Monica told him in a quiet voice.

Cody, Alex and Jake all nodded as they watched him walk away from them. Michelle stayed by his side.

"She won't leave his side now. I know she won't," Cody muttered.

"You know she won't," Monica told him.

"Now all we have to do is make sure the group gets back to their own time," Alex said.

Rick and Sharak paced back and forth as the others patiently waited in chairs nearby.

"He will be fine and so will she," Marok told them.

"I know. They're in good hands here but that's not what I'm worried about," Rick replied as he stopped and faced the Medjai. "It's the Guardian I'm more worried about."

"Why the Guardian? She's the one who brought us here! She's the reason why Ardeth and the others have renewed life," Jonathan protested as he stepped forward.

Rick sighed as he stared at his brother-in-law.

"I admit you're right on that Jonathan but I have a feeling something's going to be happening really soon with her. Her job's not quite finished here before we leave," Rick replied.

"Smart indeed, Richard O'Connell," came a female voice.

Along with it, came a light and the Guardian appeared before them.

"I have one final thing to tell you besides obvious that the three men ultimately saved future generations from evil and despair. Now, any and all disasters that occur from now on will naturally," the Gurardian told them. "I must ask you to meet me soon. See you then."

The group watched her disappear into thin air and they all sighed.

Frank watched Michelle as she walked ahead to catch up with the others. They were all happy to see their friend alive but all that was cut short when the Guardian appeared before them. She looked at them with a knowing smile. Cody felt a bit uncomfortable as he placed a hand on his injured shoulder.

"What does she want?" wondered Alex as they continued to look at her.

"I know what she wants," Frank suddenly said as he stepped forward.

His team wasn't surprised at this as she disappeared as suddenly as she appeared. Michelle walked up to where she once stood.

Jackie walked beside Nick down the hall. She sighed as she looked at him.

"What's wrong Jackie?" he asked her, surprising her a bit.

"No, nothing's wrong," she stuttered.

Nick stopped at that comment and gave her a smile. Jackie stopped as well and turned to look at him. She held out her arms.

"What?" she said.

Nick laughed and shook his head as he began to walk again.

"I don't believe you sometimes Jackie," he said with a smile.

It stayed that way until the Guardian appeared before them. They stopped walking and laughing to look at her.

"What does she want? When Catlanda feels better, they are going home," Jackie quietly wondered.

"No, it's something else. I can feel it," Nick replied as the woman before them disappeared. "Something else is going on here."

TBC...


	16. We Look to Our Sons and Daughters to Exp...

Author's Note-The title of this chapter comes from the song 'Rise Again'. Just to let you know where I got it from so I can't say it's mine. Not now, not ever. (I particularly like the song a lot) Well, I'll shut up now so you can read the rest of this story.

00000

The group congregated some time later in an empty room, where the Guardian appeared in the middle. She stared at the curious faces. She noticed that everyone was there except for Catlanda.

"I suppose you are wondering what is going on, what I called for all of you," she told them.

They all nodded as they continued to listen.

"Frank Donovan, Nicholas Kokoris, Ardeth Bay, I want to show you all something," the Guardian told them. "We have some time before the Keeper is capable go with you."

"Alright, what is it?" wondered Nick.

The Guardian grasped the sides of his head. Nick put his hands up as if to stop her. The images that were appearing before him were shocking him.

"Nicholas Kokoris, if you had not come here to America, if you had not left Greece, this is what would have happened to Sarah and Patrick Smith that day you first met them," she told him in a ghostly voice.

_'Patrick, why does it have to be like this?' Sarah asked the unconscious Patrick, laying still in the bed. 'It doesn't seem right. I hope Henry and Hannah don't find us here.'_

_She heard noises and voices outside the room and she walked out only to gasp, putting her hands over her mouth._

_'No, it can't be them! How did they find us?'_ _she cried as the man saw her and stormed in her direction and the woman following him._

_'What do you two think you were doing? Both of you are coming back with us! Now lead me to your brother!' he demanded._

_Sarah quivered in fear as she stared at him. She nervously climbed to her feet and led him to Patrick's room. The young man was still unconscious and Henry snorted. He pointed at the teenager lying in the bed._

_'This is what you get for pulling a stunt like that! You try this again and I will not be as lenient as I am being now!' Henry growled at her._

_He grabbed her arm and dragged her after him. She didn't protest the entire time as she felt the tears well up in her eyes._

_'Pat, I wish this could stop. We want this to stop,' she quietly said to herself_.

The images became blurry before Nick's eyes and then he saw the brother and sister as young adults. She walked down the street, wearing sunglasses and a gray dress, hair tied back into a ponytail as Patrick waited by the corner, who wore sunglasses himself and a suit. She stopped beside him and took off the glasses.

_'Ready?' he asked._

_'As ready as I'll ever be. You know we have to do this or else Henry will kill us. I don't know about you but I'm not ready to die just yet,' she told him._

_'I know what you mean though sometimes I wish someone saw this happening sooner but Henry and Hannah did a good job of hiding it from the public. We both hate this life and all because Henry and Hannah are greedy for more and more money,' Patrick sighed. 'And no matter how hard we try, we can't escape it. Not now and probably not ever.'_

_The images horrified Nick to see that both Sarah and Patrick were doing all the dirty work for their father and mother._

"It can't be. It...it couldn't have turned out like that," Nick quietly said before the woman took away her hands. "The two of them..."

"But it could have Nicholas Kokoris. If you weren't there to stop Henry Smith from taking his children back home from the hospital here and taking them in as your own," she replied before heading over to Ardeth. "Now for you."

"Wait a mom..." Ardeth started as he took a step back.

She grabbed him in the same fashion as Nick and he reacted in the same way as the surgeon did.

"If you were not there that night your friends were killed Ardeth Bay, this is what would have happened to Catlanda," she told him.

Ardeth watched as Laron ran into the tent with his men and demanded the two people for the Spire.

_'Give us the Spire!' he demanded._

_'Never!' cried the man._

Ardeth helplessly watched as his friends were killed and left for dead. He didn't see himself run into the tent, after his friends, wondering what happened to them. He didn't see himself run into the tent and see the ugly mess and cause Laron to hide in the shadows. What he did see was Laron walking into the next room. The man laughed once he saw the crib.

_'Well, well, well. What have we got here? A baby. Too bad I killed the parents,' the man snickered as he walked up to the child, who began crying at that moment._

_He roughly picked up the child, causing it to cry even more. He smiled and laughed with glee as he found the Spire amongst the blankets, shruken to hide its whereabouts._

_'It thought it could get away from me! I finally have it!' he laughed as he dropped the baby back into the crib._

_He had a look around before he decided to take the blanket and put it over the baby's face. He kept it there for a several minutes as the baby's cries calmed down. He snickered as he pulled the blanket off to see the baby wasn't breathing and appeared a bit blue in the face._

_'Looks like an entire family died this night and I will probably get away with it,' he laughed before walking out of the home and away from the massacre._

Ardeth watched as the images changed. He saw Ramses being resurrected years later and he wasn't there to stop it from occuring. Catlanda had been killed and the O'Connells were also nowhere to be seen. Ramses held onto the Spire and laughed.

'I have my jewel again and I have the Spire! I will be invincible!' cried Ramses as he lifted it into the air.

The images became blurry again and Ardeth saw himself: a heartless man who led the Medjai to their downfall because of the deaths of his friends and their child. His people were now being used as slaves as Laron watched them with a laugh in his voice.

_'Ramses II rules this country and this entire planet,' he cried as he threw his head back and laughed his evil laugh._

_'You will not win this!' Ardeth yelled at him from within the crowd._

_'Too late Medjai, Ramses already has won this war,' Laron told him as he walked up to the former Medjai leader and towered over him._

_Laron punched Ardeth hard in the stomach, making him double over in pain. Ardeth fell to the ground and lay flat on his back as Ramses appeared nearby, Spire in hand. Ardeth watched him through partly opened eyes. The Pharaoh laughed_.

Ardeth cringed at the sights as she let go of his head. He watched her glowing eyes.

"Not a pretty sight, I know. Now you Frank," she said as she faced the Federal Agent.

He backed away from her as she did so.

"I really don't want to see this," Frank told her.

"But you have to," replied the Guardian as she managed to place her hands on the sides of his head. "Frank Donovan, if you and the others had not been at the police station that day that Michelle Hana decided to walk past you and take your wallet, this is what would have happened to her."

Frank watched as Michelle Hana walked out of her home that day and headed towards the police station, theft close in her mind. He noticed that he wasn't at the station, and neither were the members of his team.

"Where are we? We were asked to research the Hana murders!" wondered Frank, his blank eyes staring in the direction of the woman before him.

"Just watch Frank Donovan," was all the Guardian said.

He did as he was told and watched as Michelle walked down the street from the station, past the place where she first bumped into them. The teenager glanced from side to side before bumping into a man nearby. She grabbed his wallet and he was none the wiser as she apologized and kept on walking. She laughed as she walked right into Death Alley and counted the money she recently obtained.

_'This is way too easy,' she told herself as she sat in the abandoned building. 'Noone can ever catch me. Joseph Denner might soon or later but I haven't seen him for two years now. Besides, noone ever finds the Silent Stalker anymore. Denner is my only problem and I know he won't find me.'_

_She laughed as she put the money back into the wallet and headed back into the street, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened._

_'They'll never catch me. Not now, not ever,' she muttered to herself as she looked around for another potential target._

_The images changed before Frank and now he saw the Japanese-American as an adult. She was standing in front of the tombstone. She was laughing quietly to herself._

_'Denner, I'm here to rub it in your face one last time. You never caught me all these years and now I can live my life without fear of being sought after by people like you! Soon, I can be just as rich as those in Hollywood for I can now place my computer skills to an ultimate test and steal from others. When I have enough, I'll be happy knowing that I'll be alive to spend it,' Michelle quietly said to the stone in front of her._

_She took out the lit cigarette from in her mouth. A puff of smoke escaped from her mouth before she dropped it, putting it out and turning to walk away._

Frank gasped as he now saw Michelle working in an office for a wealthy business firm. He saw a group of people in an office.

_'We seem to be missing money every month. It's not obvious that any of the employees are stealing it but the figures don't seem to add up every month. Something has to be done!" one woman said._

_'Sally's right and noone can think of a what could be happening here,' a man said._

_The man behind the desk thought for a moment before shaking his head._

_'Then I don't know what to tell you. We already have lost over 50 thousand dollars over the past five years and nobody can figure out where it's going. If we don't figure it out soon, or if whatever's happening stops, we might eventually go bankrupt,' the man said as he gave a sigh. 'And apparently, we're not the only ones. There are a few other companies that are losing money as well. No one knows who's doing it.'_

Frank saw that Michelle was right outside the door, hidden from view of the people inside the room. She gave an evil smile before continuing on past the door.

_'You won't find me. Ever. I'm too good for you. I have been working here for nearly ten years. I will soon quit this job and settle down to spend my money as I please,' she said, nearly laughing. 'Little did you ever know that I was getting almost triple my wages. I stole enough money from you and those other companies to live my life as I please.'_

_She stopped just outside the building, a smile still on her face before heading towards her car._

The images faded before Frank as the Guardian took her hands away from his head.

"What I was trying to show you was that the Time Traveller was right," she told them.

"What?" the three men cried out in unison.

"What could he possibly be right about?" wondered Monica. "What possibilites?

"You see, the Traveller invaded the dreams of these men and told them what would have been happened if they were not there. The sad part is that if they were not there, it really would have happened. Catlanda would have died the same night her parents did and Ramses would have ruled the world when he was resurrected years later, with Laron aiding him. Sarah and Patrick would have been under the control of their parents for the rest of their lives, unable to free themselves from it or escape it. Michelle would have grown up to be a computer genius, embezzling money from companies from all over the world. She would have been a multi-billionaire by the time she was 35 and not much of it would she acquire legally," the Guardian explained to them as a figure walked into the room.

The group looked to see Catlanda standing in the doorway. She slowly walked up to Ardeth, who put his hands on her shoulders.

"What is wrong?" he asked.

"I would like to go home now," she quietly replied.

Ardeth gave a smile before handing her the Spire.

"Alright, then we will," he told her.

"What? Already? Why can't we stay longer?" demanded Alex.

"Alex, soon the portal between our times will be closed and then we will be unable to go back. Some time has already passed because of Catlanda, though we all know she couldn't help it. We have to go now. We'll meet them again," Rick told the teenager.

Alex nodded, the tears shimmering in his eyes. Rick stood up and the two joined the others.

"I hope we will meet again," Evie told them as Catlanda lifted up the Spire.

They all smiled at each other waving good-bye before Catlanda told the Spire what to do. The group of ten soon disappeared into thin air and the rest of them looked at the place where they once stood.

"Looks like they're gone back," sighed Michelle.

She soon looked at Frank.

"Frank, can we go to Egypt sometime soon?" she asked him.

He looked at her with surprise in his eyes but he soon began laughing as he put a hand on her shoulder. His team was surprised at his outburst.

"Of course we can," Frank replied.

He reached to ruffle her hair. She stopped his arm and began to laugh.

00000

Evie, Rick, Jonathan and Alex found themselves in a large room. They looked around to recognize it as the altar where they first went to the future.

"We made it!" Evie sighed as she hugged her son.

"Yes!" Rick cheered.

Iscantil and Ayanna glaced from side to side. They became very worried as they did so.

"Where are Catlanda and Ardeth? They are not here!" cried Ayanna.

"Why aren't they here? They took the same trip we did!" wondered Jonathan as he also began to look around.

Everyone did so but no luck.

"Where could they possibly be?" everyone began to wonder as they continued to look.

00000

Ardeth awoke and found himself in a room not familiar to him. He frantically looked around and he saw Catlanda laying on the floor nearby. She was trying to stand up and he hurried over to her.

"What has happened? Why are we here and not with the others?" he asked her.

"I am not completely sure. I am thinking it has to do with my child but I cannot confirm it," she replied. "It could be almost any reason that we are here."

Ardeth sighed with a nod as he helped her to her feet.

TBC...


	17. Family Time

The group of Federal Agents were in their hotel rooms, packing. Michelle had already finished with hers and was helping Cody deal with his clothes.

"Man, things can't go any more wrong!" he cried as he placed his chin in his hand.

"Why? What could possibly be wrong?" Michelle wondered in an innocent voice, a smile on her face.

"As if you don't know. When we first arrived here in San Fransisco, we learn that Frank is supposed to help save the world. As it turns out, he receives some very serious injuries, then dies and comes back to life before we know it," complained Cody as he placed a shirt into the luggage.

"Come on, now, that was a few days ago. Besides, are you upset now that he had a chance to come back to life and you probably won't?" Michelle asked him, a smile on her face and laughter written in her voice.

Cody gave her an 'I don't believe you' look. Michelle quickly put on an innocent look and Cody wondered why. He turned around to see Frank standing behind him.

"Michelle, is Cody giving you trouble?" wondered Frank.

"No, he isn't Frank. Actually, it's more like I'm giving him trouble," Michelle replied, a sneaky smile on her face.

She helped Cody finish with what he was doing before heading towards the door. She turned around and faced the two men, an even sneakier grin on her face.

"Just before I forget Cody, there is something that I should tell you," she told him.

"Uh oh. What is it Shelly?" wondered Cody, sounding a bit cautious.

"When we get back to Chicago, you have a old debt to pay up," Michelle replied.

She giggled before she scurried out of the room. Frank looked at Cody with an odd look. The computer genius held out his good arm and his jaw dropped in surprise.

"What is she talking about Cody?" Frank asked him finally.

"She... she... that little rat!" cried Cody, not believing what he just heard.

"Who's a little rat and why?" wondered Jake, who happened to walk into the room at that moment.

"Something about Michelle and an old debt he has to pay," Frank replied.

He was still waiting for an answer from Cody and Jake's interest perked up. He finally sighed and dropped his arm.

"Over a year ago, Michelle and I made a little bet and as it turns out, she recently won it," he sighed.

Frank's eyes widened in surprise.

"Bet? You were betting with my daughter Cody? She's only a teenager!" Frank told him.

"It was her idea, not mine," mumbled Cody. "She had to go and rub it in my face even before we got home."

"Of course, I should expect something like this from her," muttered Frank.

Frank gave a smile, hearing what the man had said and Cody never saw him do it. Jake did though and he inwardly gave himself a smile.

"Come on, let's get ready and go home. I think we all need a vacation after all this," Frank told them before heading out the door with his luggage.

00000

Nick walked into a room to meet up with Rae, who smiled at him.

"How're you feeling?" she asked him.

"Alright. I'll live, even after what happened. Patrick and Sarah will as well. I'm very happy of that. I'm also very glad that they weren't that badly injured, even though she received a mild concussion and both of them were shot," Nick replied.

Rae watched him look down the hallway before trying to get his attention.

"Nick?" she questioningly said.

"Yes?" he said.

"We're all glad you're alive. You're one of a kind," was all she told them before walking out of the room and down the hall away from him.

Nick was a bit surprised by this but he gave a smile as he walked in the opposite direction. He soon came across Sarah and Patrick, who were sitting in a room. It appeared as if they were waiting for him. He looked between the two of them.

"What do you two want?" wondered Nick.

The two looked at each other before Patrick decided to speak.

"We already got what we wanted Nick. You," was all the young man said.

Nick smiled at the comment.

"Come on. My job's done for the day. Let's go home and do something as a family," he quietly told them. "We deserve it right about now."

The brother and sister smiled as each other before standing up and got themselves ready for the trip home as Nick got ready himself.

00000

Frank was reading a magazine on the airplane to pass the time on the trip back to Chicago. He glanced to the seat next to him to see Michelle sound asleep. He smiled as he placed a hand on her arm.

"I may not show it but I am happy to be around to see you graduate, among other things. We well go to Egypt someday and we will have to go on a vacation after this," Frank whispered to himself.

He glanced around at the rest of his team. They weren't paying any attention to him and he was inwardly happy. He saw that Cody was trying to make himself comfortable. His shoulder was still bothering him and he was still a bit upset about it. Frank gave a small smile at that though he knew thar Michelle was serious when she said she would help them with the computer work until Cody was better. He also thought that she would be very versatile if she were to become part of the same branch of the law as he was. With her already good computer skills, he remembered that she was alright with a gun and her great first aid skill came to mind. Her many skills replayed in his mind as he also thought about her role as a leader in the school.

"I think you're going to turn into me when you grow older," he whispered.

00000

Nick opened the door and the trio walked into the room. Patrick plopped down onto the couch, his head now laying over the back of it. Sarah walked inside and placed her package onto the floor. They had decided to do some shopping along the way.

"I don't blame you Pat. It's been a very long few days," Nick sighed as he threw his jacket over the back of a chair.

Sarah nodded in agreement as she landed in another chair across the room as Nick sat in the one where he placed his jacket.

"Want do you two want to do?" wondered Sarah in a quiet voice.

"Right now at this moment? Rest. A lot of much needed rest before we do anything else," Nick requested in a quiet voice as well. "I don't think I can handle something like this again."

The three of them looked at each other with a knowing smile that everything was going to be alright now.

"We're home and we're safe and sound," whispered Nick before falling asleep right where he was.

The brother and sister gazed over at him through partially opened eyes before they also fell asleep right where they were.

Frank walked into his apartment, Michelle right behind him. He looked around, almost missing the place. Michelle walked up to him and placed a hand gently on his arm.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?" he wondered.

"What I mean is, you recently died and were resurrected. What I mean is, are you feeling alright after all that?" she repeated.

"Yes, I'm fine. I get to be with you again and for that, I'm grateful," he told her as he put his arm around her.

Michelle smiled at that as Frank sat down onto the couch. She sat down next to him and placed her head on his chest. Her eyes were now half-closed as he rubbed her arm.

"Looks like I will be able to see you get into the law enforcement after all," he whispered into her ear.

"Yes, you will," she quietly said.

"Though I have one question for you," he told her.

"What is it?" she wondered in a quiet voice.

"What did you bet with Cody?" he asked her. "Tell me."

Her eyes widened but he didn't see it. She became slightly nervous as she looked at him as he looked down at her.

"You really want to know?" she wondered.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't," Frank told her.

"Alright, just please don't get mad at me," she said with a small sigh.

"Can't promise that now," he put in.

Michelle rolled her eyes at that and hesitated for a moment. She waited so long that Frank wondered what was wrong.

"Mika..." he started.

"I bet a hundred dollars with him that someone would come after me within three years," she blurted out.

"What? When was this made?" Frank wondered.

"Last year, after I was taken and you were attacked and left for dead. Cody and Alex were in my hospital room after you five found me and he said he was hoping that no one else came after because I was half-Japanese or whatever. Then I asked him how much he wanted to bet on that and he agreed to it!" she quickly explained.

'I have to let Cody know that he shouldn't be doing that. Especially with my daughter,' Frank thought to himself.

"Frank?" Michelle questioningly said.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Just to let you know, I had made a very tiny fortune in betting against my classmates at school. They will say something, I say how much they want to bet and I always won. Haven't lost a bet yet," Michelle told him, feeling mighty proud of herself. "Except for this one, I haven't done any for some time. Plan to stop now."

Frank laughed as Michelle put a hand up to her chin.

"Have any of the money left?" Frank wondered.

"What? Oh. Yeah, I do actually. Got about 50 dollars left from it. I made a lot of bets and some were kind of high," Michelle replied before she laughed herself. "Highest ever I think was 25 dollars."

Soon, the laughter died down and she yawned. She closed her eyes and fell asleep right where she was beside Frank. He looked at her and decided to stay right where he was for the moment. After a few minutes had passed, when he knew she was asleep, he gently picked her up and took her into his bedroom and placed her onto the bed. He stared at her for a moment before pulling the covers over her.

"Sleep well," he told her. "We both need it."

TBC...


	18. Extended Family

Ardeth carefully headed towards the wall and put his hand over it before pressing one of the stones and a door opened. He walked back to Catlanda and began to help her out of the room.

"Are you alright Cat?" he asked her.

She nodded as they continued on through the tunnels. She looked around at the bare walls.

"We are on the other side of the temple. This place is big. It took me weeks to look around this place when I first came here," she gasped as she was half-dragged down the corridor. "The others are no doubt at the altar, where we first travelled to the future."

Ardeth nodded in agreement, both knowing that they somehow managed to get where they ended up on the way to the altar. They were in 1939 just the same even though the group was in two different places in the temple. Catlanda limply hung onto the Spire as they continued on.

Soon, they stopped for a rest. It was actually on Ardeth's insistence that they do so. Catlanda sat against the wall, eyes half closed as Ardeth walked up ahead a bit. When he went back to her, he saw her hand resting comfortably on her stomach. Her eyes were completely closed and her breathing was calm. He knelt in front of her and she opened her eyes slightly.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked her with worry in his voice.

"Yes, I am fine. I will be fine until this child decides to finally come," she whispered.

Ardeth nodded. He knew this child would change their lives forever, maybe even the balance of power if it turned out to be a boy. He sighed, knowing that at least some of the people would be angry as he put his hand over hers. The two looked at each other.

"We had better start looking for the others again. They probably have begun looking for us and it would be best if we search for them as well," Ardeth told her.

Catlanda nodded as she climbed to her feet, with some help from Ardeth and they continued on down the corridor.

00000

"Where could they be? This place is only so big!" wondered Evie as she, Iscantil and Ayanna began to look around the place.

"There are things even we do not know about these places Evelyn. They could be somewhere and we not know it until it is too late," Ayanna told them. "Cat knows this place more that we do simply beacuse she has been here more times."

"And she is with child that could come at any time. We have to find her before she gives birth to the child," Iscantil added. "It will be difficult for one person to deliver a baby, even for Ardeth. He has not witnessed a birth before, not even Catlanda's."

Evie took a deep breath as she and the others continued looking around. Jonathan, Rick, Sharak, Marok and even Alex began to help in the search.

00000

Ardeth led the way down the corridor. Catlanda still held the Spire and she leaned against it the entire way. When she stopped, Ardeth took notice and faced her.

"What is wrong?" he asked her as he rushed to her side. "Is it the child?"

"The baby is coming," she replied, followed by a screech.

Two hands went to her stomach, one hers, the other Ardeth's. He gazed into her pain-filled eyes.

"How long...?" he started.

"For some time now but I did not expect it be so soon though. Not for a while yet. I was hoping we could find my grandmothers before the child came but it cannot wait," she replied with a gasp, her long hair covering her face. "There is a room nearby that we can go into."

She pointed the way and Ardeth took her in there. It was fully equiped with a bed and other necessities that Ardeth needed. He was a bit amazed before he remembered what he was told before.

_'You know the Spire does not normally deal with health issues but when it come with births, especially one dealing with the Keeper, then it makes an exception._'

Ardeth helped her onto the bed and helped prepare his daughter for what needed to be done. He draped a blanket over her now bare legs, another over her bare chest (It was exposed on her insistence). Ardeth thought about what needed to be done as he laid a few blankets underneath her body. The Spire's eyes illuminated the room. He kept another blanket nearby for the child.

"Breathe, Cat. You can do this. Push," he told he as he watched for the baby.

Catlanda pushed again as her father placed his hands on her outspread knees. He moved in closer, thinking he was too far away to do anything for her. She yelled and pushed again as he continued to give her the support that she needed during this time.

After a few tense moments, Ardeth could see a mop of hair poking out. Ardeth gave a gasp of happiness once he saw this. He connected eyes with his daughter.

"It is coming," he whispered to her.

She gave a small smile before she breathed deeply again. She pushed again and spread her legs further, allowing Ardeth to have better access to the baby. He kept an eye on the child as it came out further from inside the body. Catlanda pushed again as Ardeth held onto the part of the child that was already outside. The shoulders made it past the barrier and the child came out more easily. Ardeth wrapped the child in a blanket as it decided to cry at that moment. Catlanda began to cry as she reached out for her child. Ardeth handed the baby to her after he cut the cord. She cradled the child as Ardeth began to clean up the mess left behind from in between her legs. She didn't even notice as he placed a clean blanket between her legs and closed them before he covered them up completely with the one already there. He wiped away the fluids from off of his hands as he looked over at her.

"So beautiful. I never believed this day would come," she whispered as she stared at her child.

"Yes, it is beautiful and I never would have believed it myself I had not seen the moment it been conceived in," he agreed. "I hated to see you like that Cat. I really did. He hurt you in a way I never believed could ever happen to a member of my family."

He knew he brought back memories they both wanted to forget with that statement. He sighed as he sat behind her and she leaned up against him, child in hand.

"What is it? Girl or boy?" he finally asked.

Catlanda moved the blanket enough so they could both see.

"It is a boy. The heir to the Medjai tribe," she told him, looking away from Ardeth.

Ardeth gave a small sigh as he sat put an arm around her and the now calm child.

00000

The group called over and over again for the two missing Medjai.

"It's hopeless! We'll never find them now. We're even in an unexplored tunnel. We'll get lost now," Jonathan whined.

"We can't give up Jonathan. They must be here somewhere and we have to find them soon. Catlanda and her unborn baby are at risk here!" Evie scolded.

They went on for a little while longer until Marok saw a light coming from one of the rooms, almost hidden and missed by them all. He hurried towards it and looked inside. His eyes widened at what he saw. He was looking at Ardeth and Catlanda. She was sleeping in a bed as he stayed awake beside her, stroking her hair. What amazed him the most was the bundle tucked within her arms.

"Did she...?" he quietly started before staring at Ardeth. "Did you...?"

Ardeth nodded as he silently made his way over to the door and outside to meet the group. He motioned for them to be quiet before they began to ask any questions.

"She had the baby already. It is a boy," he told them.

Ayanna's eyes widened as she walked up to her son.

"And you handled this all by yourself?" she asked him.

Ardeth nodded. His mother was happy with this as she looked inside the room.

"Then we must let her rest. We will travel back to the tribe as soon as we possibly can but right now is not it. We will go travel ahead as long as there is light Ardeth. You can meet up with us at the tribe as soon as they are safe to travel," she said

The group started to head out of the ruins. Marok stayed back with Ardeth, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"You go in with her. I will keep watch over you," he offered as he bowed his head.

Ardeth nodded as he put an hand on the younger Medjai's shoulder before walking back inside. He sat down next to her sleeping form again. He placed one hand on her stomach and she reacted in her sleep.

"Our future begins today," he whispered to himself as she moved towards the warmth of his body.

The End.

Author's Note - So there is it. She's had her child. Thanks Deana for all you've done for me. You're wonderful. sniff sniff


End file.
